Life in a small town can be pretty boring when everyone avoids you like the plague. But after their father unwittingly sends them to stay with an aunt who's away on holiday, the Hardscrabble children take off on an adventure that begins in the seedy streets of London and ends in a peculiar sea village where legend has it a monstrous creature lives who is half boy and half animal...
In this wickedly dark, unusual, and compelling novel, Ellen Potter masterfully tells the tale of one deliciously strange family and a secret that changes everything.
"What premise could be more compelling than a gothic mystery set to miniature proportions? Lucia's narration is witty and conversational, with an appealingly humble self-awareness when needed. Gentle, pensive Otto is completely as expected, but Max turns out to be a bit of a surprise, mostly because Lucia had previously considered him merely an obnoxious know-it-all and is only now noticing his qu
BCCB
"A quirky charmer."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"The three Hardscrabble siblings set out to learn the identity of the title character in Ellen Potter's gothic mystery The Kneebone Boy. But it's the trio's longing to unwrap the truth about their missing mom that sets off a grand adventure full of shadowy characters and hair-raising action."
