The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars

by Jaclyn Moriarty

Karl James Mountford (Illustrator)

The fantastic followup to The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone.

The town of Spindrift is frequented by pirates, Shadow Mages and charlatans. It's also home to the Orphanage School, where Finlay lives with Glim, Taya and Eli. Just outside town is the painfully posh Brathelthwaite Boarding School, home to Honey Bee, Hamish and Victor, Duke of Ainsley. When the two schools compete at the Spindrift Tournament, stakes are high, tensions are higher, and some people are out to win at any cost. Before long, the orphans and the boarding school are in an all-out war.

And then Whispering Wars break out, and Spindrift is thrust onto the front lines. Children are being stolen, Witches, Sirens and a deadly magical flu invade the town, and all attempts to fight back are met with defeat.

Finlay, Honey Bee and their friends must join forces to outwit the encroaching forces of darkness, rescue the stolen children, and turn the tide of the war. But how can one bickering troupe outwit the insidious power of the Whisperers? And who are the two mysterious figures watching them from the shadows?

From the award-winning Jaclyn Moriarty comes a spellbinding tale of unlikely friendship, unexpected magic and competitive athletics.

• ISBN10: 191310110X
• ISBN13: 9781913101107
• Publish Date: 1 October 2020
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 28 July 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Guppy Publishing Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kelly]

Seventeen children have disappeared from Spindrift, thousands of children across the Kingdoms and Empires. The town of Spindrift resides within the Kingdom of Gusts, Gales, Squalls and Violent Storms, each year children within the Kingdom participating in the Spindrift Tournament for prestige, including the children of the Orphanage, reigning defenders of the tournament. Brathelthwaite Boarding School are competing in the tournament, the privileged students and conceited headmaster believe victory is foregone conclusion but when the tournament is challenged, the orphanage and Brathelthwaite Boarding School declare warfare.

Almost eleven year old Finlay is a resident of the Spindrift Orphanage, abandoned as a small child along with best friend and resident storyteller Glim. Twins Eli and Taya washed up upon the Spindrift shore and joined the fray at the Orphanage under the their caregiver Lili Daisy. The children are educated and cared for, although Honey Bee of the Brathelthwaite Boarding School will advise you differently. She'll tell you those unfortunate children are nothing but trouble.

If you ask Finlay, he'll tell you about those entitled children at the Boarding School, sitting on their breeches eating pastries and drinking tea but the Brathelthwaite Boarding School isn't as delightful as Finlay believes. Under the watchful eye of her uncle, the students at the Boarding School adhere to very stern guidelines, anything less could be deserving of a whipping.

When the Orphanage goes up against the Boarding School, revenge ensues until another child disappears. The Whispering Kingdom declares warfare, brandishing Mages, Gnomes and Whisperers in an attempt to destroy the Kingdom of Gusts, Gales, Squalls and Violent Storms. In The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars, our alternating narrators Finlay and Honey Bee are documenting the circumstances surrounding the Whispering Wars, child abductions, a rampant illness and the destruction of Spindrift by the use of illegal shadow magic.

The children must put their differences aside and work together to find the missing children by becoming missing children themselves. The underlying themes of socioeconomics, concentration camps, abduction and child labour are woven throughout the narrative, a wonderful point of discussion for middle grade children. Jaclyn Moriarty sprinkles a delightful whimsicality throughout the narration, creating enchanting characters that are wonderfully illustrated. A born storyteller and a phenomenal read for the young and young at heart.