Thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC.

If I read this novel as a child, I would be as absolutely obsessed with it as I was with A Little Princess, for similar reasons.

I'll be honest here: I was terribly ostracized as a child. I escaped the aching loneliness through books. The act of reading was a constant for me throughout my life. A Little Princess probably saved my life in my elementary school years. The suffering Sara Crewe endures was the mirror of my own life at the time. Naturally, I have cherished this book ever since.

I believe that Secrets of the Snakestone has the charm to be another favorite of mine. Zélie starts the book as an unwanted maid, her only companion a pigeon, reading a pilfered book of adventure for escapism. The adventure following the Snakestone's discovery provides something A Little Princess doesn't: living the adventure in one's beloved stories.

I was excited to read this one, based on the beautiful cover, the title, and the blurb. The beginning is also compelling, and I noticed right away that the writing quality does not water things down just because it's for a younger audience. This, I very. much appreciate. However, as I kept reading, I found myself startled by the behavior of the characters and some of the descriptions. It seems way too heavy, dark, and scary for the age group. The adults, in particular, are terrible, and their treatment of the young maid would be upsetting for some young readers, But, as the FMC and MMC go on their quests, the stories settles in a little. There's quite a bit of adventure, and their comraderie is fun to read. I found it surprising that she continues to return to the house where she is a maid, and those scenes continued to be hard to read. There are also quite a few very violent scenes. Overall, the book does have a heart of mystery and adventure that will appeal to some readers, but the degree of the macabre could be toned down. I would be nervous for most middle grade readers to pick this up.

This one just wasn't for me. It felt overly ornate and bogged down in style over substance, with a too slow pacing and a host of unreasonably horrible adults whose wickedness and fecklessness is so extreme they quickly become two dimensional.

Thank you NetGalley! The story takes place in Paris I’m guessing around 1895. This is the year on the map at the beginning of the story and is otherwise not stated. A girl of indeterminate age named Zelie Dutta had been sent to Paris from her home in Calcutta with her father to work as a maid. When on an errand, she comes across a boy who quickly becomes her friend and ally. Jules Dubois works in the sewers beneath the city and has found Zelle’s father’s locket that he never took off. Embossed on the back reads the word Snakestone. Mystery, murder ensue as realizations are made. . Although as a whole the story was good, for the age group it is designated for I feel the youngest readers of this age group would find it rather macabre in places and a bit slow paced with the intricacies of the plot being missed. Older readers may appreciate the horrors depicted and slow reveal of the storyline better.

3.5 stars

This was a fun middle-grade read. The story was pretty well fleshed out and I found the characters to be interesting. There were some things that didn't work for me as an older reader, but I would def recommend this for teens.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC