A beautifully crafted middle-grade novel spiced with magic--and
gargoyles!--from the acclaimed author of Hour of the Bees and Race to
the Bottom of the Sea.
Fished from the river as an infant and raised by a roving band of street
urchins who call themselves the Crowns, eight-year-old Duck keeps her
head down and her mouth shut. It's a rollicking life, always thieving,
always on the run--until the ragtag Crowns infiltrate an abandoned
cathedral in the city of Odierne and decide to set down roots. It's all
part of the bold new plan hatched by the Crowns' fearless leader, Gnat:
one of their very own will pose as an apprentice to the local baker,
relieving Master Griselde of bread and coin to fill the bellies and line
the pockets of all the Crowns. But no sooner is Duck apprenticed to the
kindly Griselde than Duck's allegiances start to blur. Who is she
really--a Crown or an apprentice baker? And who does she want to be?
Meanwhile, high above the streets of Odierne, on the roof of the
unfinished cathedral, an old and ugly gargoyle grows weary of waiting to
fulfill his own destiny--to watch and protect. Told in alternating
viewpoints, this exquisite novel evokes a timeless tale of love,
self-discovery, and what it means to be rescued.