Secrets of the Snakestone - by Piu Dasgupta (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A remarkable middle-grade debut that takes readers on a thrillingly fast-paced race through the murky and magical underbelly of 19th-century Paris.

Zélie is often accused of being a witch, but she doesn't believe in magic. That is until Jules climbs up from the reeking Parisian sewer and hands her the gold locket he found there. Zélie recognizes it immediately-it belongs to her missing father, who is supposed to be back in India, and it once held the magical Snakestone. If Zélie can find the stone, she might also find her father.

But a sinister secret society is equally desperate to get their hands on the Snakestone and its terrible powers. Zélie and Jules must beat them to it, risking their lives in the dark tunnels twisting beneath the city streets. . .

Review Quotes

Two young sleuths brave danger and villainy to find a cursed gemstone and a missing father.
Sent from Calcutta to work as a gentlewoman's maid in 1895 Paris, 12-year-old Zélie Dutta worries when her father's regular letters suddenly stop arriving from India. Her fears deepen when Jules Dubois--a red-haired sewer-sweeper about her own age--appears with the locket that once hung from Baba's neck. Determined to uncover the truth and find her beloved Baba, Zélie plunges into a mystery that leads to the legendary Snakestone, a jewel said to grant its bearer immunity from harm but that brings "death and misfortune to anybody whom its owner holds dear." Together, in the shadowy streets and sewers of belle epoque Paris, Zélie and Jules confront the sinister Brotherhood of Blood, rescue a baby sloth, and encounter both menace and comfort from a fortuneteller, a fire-breather, and a contortionist from Le Cirque Fantastique. This period adventure weaves together fact and fiction for a bright glimpse into Parisian history, keeping readers on their toes with a whirlwind plot and larger-than-life characters, although the ending may feel a bit too neat. An entertaining debut with strong international appeal, the story ends on a note that leaves things open for a sequel.
Lively and sure to please fans of history, adventure, and mystery. (map, author's note) (Fantasy. 9-12)

--Kirkus Reviews

Zélie Dutta of Calcutta has been sent to live with and work for the recently widowed Madame
Malaise in Paris as payment for her father's debt to the Malaise family. Zélie's housemaid life is
not easy, as she becomes the scapegoat for other staff members' mistakes. Complications arise
when written communication from her father suddenly stops and his special locket--thought to
have once held the mysteriously powerful Snakestone--is found in the sewers by Jules Dubois,
a young street cleaner. Zélie and Jules form an unlikely friendship, working together to determine
what happened to Zélie's father while dodging murderers, secret society members, and a bit of
magic that just may be emanating from the pendant. The duo enlist the help of a fortune teller,
learning the true power of the Snakestone, hastening their quest to find it and discover the true
fate of Zélie's father. In this middle grade debut, readers are introduced to the dark, gritty, and
magical underworld of nineteenth-century Europe with a page-turning mystery that remains
suspenseful to the very end.

--Aryn Prestia, Booklist

A crowd-pleasing tale, colorfully told.--The Times

A French Indian tween traverses 19th-century Paris seeking answers to a family mystery in DasGupta's mystical debut. Zélie Dutta doesn't understand why her beloved father sent her from India to work as a maid in the Parisian household of Madame Malaise a year and a half before this book's start. Nor does she understand why he hasn't written to her in two months. Miserable from constant accusations of thievery and witchcraft by her peers, Zélie plots an escape--and then sees a redheaded boy on the street holding her father's locket. Determined to find out how and why her father's possession traveled 5,000 miles to France, she enlists the help of the boy, who introduces himself as Jules Dubois. Jules guides Zélie into the sewers, and together the youths delve deeper into a broadening mystery involving Zélie's family history, a folkloric object called the Snakestone, and a sinister scientist fraternity named the Brotherhood of Blood. Though a convenient plot saps tension, descriptive text renders Zélie's refreshingly non-Eurocentric view of the vivid Belle Epoque Paris setting as DasGupta's impetuous and compassionate protagonist ventures from the Catacombs to the Cirque Fantastique. Includes a map of Paris. Ages 9-12.--Publishers Weekly

How's that for a cover, eh? Pretty cool. So this book will be author Piu Dasgupta's debut as a children's book author. In this middle grade novel she draws from her life in Calcutta and her later move to Paris. As such, this is a book that speaks to the experience of living between worlds. In it, our heroine lives in Paris and doesn't believe in magic until one day someone comes up from the sewers with her father's missing locket. Think of it as kind of like Les Mis if fun things were happening in the catacombs instead of, uh, grave robbing.--Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production

In fin de siècle Paris, Zélie, a Bengali girl sent overseas to work as a maid, is continually accused of witchcraft. But she doesn't believe in magic-until Jules, a young sewer worker, gives her a golden locket, once home to a cursed ruby called the Snakestone. If Zélie finds the stone, she may find her missing father too; but a fearsome secret society is also on its trail. Featuring gutsy, likable characters, full-throttle action and an atmospheric setting, this 9+ debut marks DasGupta out as an author to watch.--The Guardian

"A page-turning mystery that remains

suspenseful to the very end."

--Aryn Prestia, Booklist

"[Secrets of the Snakestone] renders Zélie's refreshingly non-Eurocentric view of the vivid Belle Epoque Paris setting as DasGupta's impetuous and compassionate protagonist ventures from the Catacombs to the Cirque Fantastique."--Publisher's Weekly

"Lively and sure to please fans of history, adventure, and mystery."--Kirkus Reviews

"Think of it as kind of like Les Mis if fun things were happening in the catacombs instead of, uh, grave robbing."--Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production

"A crowd-pleasing tale, colorfully told."--Lucy Bannerman, The Times

"Featuring gutsy, likable characters, full-throttle action and an atmospheric setting, this 9+ debut marks DasGupta out as an author to watch."--Imogen Russell Williams, The Guardian

About the Author

Piu DasGupta was born in Calcutta, India and grew up in India and the UK. She studied English at Oxford University and subsequently worked in several serious professions and places before following a long-nurtured dream to be a writer in a garret in Paris. She now lives in Paris although not (thankfully) in a garret, with her family, two cats, and numerous pigeons who flap to the kitchen windowsill for regular snacks. When she finally grows up, she hopes to fulfil her ultimate fantasy and run away to join the circus.