The Sackville Street Caper by Alan Nolan is based in Dublin in 1858. It is an adventure story with lots of funny parts thrown in. The main characters are Bram Stoker, a boy who wants to be a successful author and is looking for adventure, and Molly Malone, a part time fish monger and full time sneak thief.
At the start of the book Bram is planning to escape from his boarding school to find an exciting adventure in Dublin city. He tricks his teachers and runs away. He makes it to Dublin and is amazed by the large buildings and loud crowds. Meanwhile Molly and the Sackville Steet Spooks, who are Molly’s friends and partners in crime, are busy pickpocketing Dublin’s wealthy residents.
Bram and Molly first meet when the Spooks steal his bag and Bram chases them through the city laneways. He eventually catches them and they strike up a friendship. Molly and her friends let him stay with them and he embraces their way of life. The real adventure begins next when Molly is captured by a mysterious villain who has devious plans for her. The race is on to foil his plot.
My favourite part of the book was probably when one of Molly’s friends dresses up as a ghost to confuse the villains. I also liked the part of the book set in Dublin Zoo.
I really liked this book – it had a lot of funny parts, the characters were very well written and it was very exciting too. Don’t judge this book by it’s cover as it wasn’t spooky or scary and there are not any creepy parts.
I would probably give this book 8 out of 10 and recommend it for 9-12 year olds. I will look out for more books by this author.
By Layla, Age 12, Burnfort NS, Mallow, Co. Cork (PS Thank you for sending me a book to review:)
“The Sackville Street Caper” by Alan Nolan, published by O’Brien Press, is on sale now for €9.99 (P/B).
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher, O’Brien Press, free of charge to Seomra Ranga for the purposes of this review
