Beautiful, captivating, such a joy to read I didnt want it to end! Sophie Anderson, bestselling author of The House with Chicken Legs

From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes a delightful (School Library Journal) illustrated middle grade novel in the spirit of Matilda about a lonely orphan who dreams of escaping her ghastly aunt and uncle.

Rosa has always believed there is magic in the world. Or at least, she hopes there is. She lost her parents when she was four, and her aunt and uncle moved into her home not long after, transforming it from a messy place of love and warmth to a cold world of business. Their approach to family is as phony as the plastic grass they sell, keeping Rosa at arms length and tucking her in at night by locking her in her room.

Now eleven, Rosas loneliness threatens to overwhelm her. Her only solace is the magic she sees around her, particularly in a cat named Balthazar who comes toand throughher window. When all the teachers at her school win the lottery and quit their jobs, Rosas aunt and uncle seize the opportunity to put an evil plan into action. They whisk Rosa away to Venice, intending to abandon her there. Luckily for Rosa, there are cats in Veniceand a laughing boy in a gondola and a family making sure she is fed.

In Rosas darkest hour, can the magic shes never lost faith in save the day?