The Left-Handed Fate

"This world has a seductive, fairytale quality--Patrick O'Brian's Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki. . . It's impossible not to admire The Left-Handed Fate for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery." --The New York Times Book Review

"Rich and strange of place and premise; suspenseful and thought-provoking." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Beautifully written, with careful attention to historical details . . . An unusually rigorous romp for lovers of steampunk, mystery, and swashbuckling adventure." --School Library Journal

"The story teems with lively characters and a captivating sense of place, all driven along by the engrossing puzzle of the mysterious contraption. . . . A colorful, swashbuckling caper full of heart." --Booklist

"The idea of achieving peace through superior firepower is effectively questioned over the course of the narrative, but it is the human questions of honor, courage, and generosity--embodied in decisive Lucy, philosophical Max, impish Liao, and dutiful Oliver--that will leave readers cheering by the book's rousing close." --The Horn Book

From Kate Milford, the bestselling author of National Book Award nominee Greenglass House, comes another magical, middle-grade adventure, The Left-Handed Fate.

Lucy Bluecrowne and Maxwell Ault are on a mission: find the three pieces of a strange and arcane engine. They're not exactly sure what this machine does, but they have it on good authority that it will stop the war that's raging between their home country of England and Napoleon Bonaparte's France. Despite being followed by mysterious men dressed all in black, they're well on their way to finding everything they need when their ship, the famous Left-Handed Fate, is taken by the Americans.

And not just any Americans. The Fate (and with it, Lucy and Max) are put under the command of Oliver Dexter, who's only just turned twelve.

But Lucy and Max aren't the only ones trying to put the engine together, and if the pieces fall into the wrong hands, it could prove disastrous. Oliver is faced with a choice: help Lucy and Max and become a traitor to his country? Or follow orders and risk endangering that same country and many others at the same time—not to mention his friends?

"This world has a seductive, fairytale quality—Patrick O’Brian’s Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki. . . It's impossible not to admire The Left-Handed Fate for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery." —The New York Times Book Review