This was a great book that was filled to the brim with an exciting mystery and adventure. The characterisation was brilliant and made me really root for Bastien. The villain, Monsieur Xavie,r was crafted really well and makes the reader despise him. The writing was engaging and complemented the plot. The ending was also very satisfying, I would love to read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre grabbed my attention from the minute I heard the title. I suspected a mystery, and that was to be honest enough to make me want to read the book.

The first few chapters introduce you to Bastien , who following what appears to the police to be a tragic hotel fire has found himself in an orphanage - run by the particularly dislikable Monsieur Xavier.

They are filled with vivid descriptions that fill your mind with pictures and emotions, I could so clearly see Bastien and Theo - cold, hungry - eager for freedom and adventure. I found myself willing them on with each new line.

When Bastien finds out about a string of missing authors he instantly starts to question the death of his own parents. Convinced there is a connection the mystery is set! We are quickly led to other characters of questionable motives and Theo and Bastien soon start to question someone they are a bit too close to for comfort. What is the link and how can they prove it? The suspense in the book had me reading on - eager to find out and crossing my fingers that they would be safe.

The three main villains in the story are Monsieur Xavier, Olivier - a failed author short on time to meet his deadline and Louis. All three are brothers and all are in on the plot.

You can’t help but feel sorry for Louis - the eldest of the brothers he is more of a servant to them - aware that they are doing something terrible but not told of the details. You can sense form the start that he doesn’t share then ideals of his brothers and the more I read the more I willed him to stand up and do the right thing. Not just for Bastien but for himself - to take charge and say ‘Enough I am more than this - and I won’t let you put me down!’

When Bastien, Theo and Sami (who has added himself to the mission) decide to break in to Monsieur Xavier’s office to uncover clues they find them selves heading down a secret passage way to the underground tunnels of Paris. What they discover is all the evidence they need - but determined to find out the whole truth they venture on. I couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling here that something was going to go terribly wrong. My heart wanted a happy ending to be sentences away but the tension in the writing had my head thinking differently.

The twists and turns in this book kept me glued - I won’t spoil the ending because this book really is one to be enjoyed.

All I will say is that this book had me in tears and smiling and back to tears on a rollercoaster of emotion as I journeyed with Bastien and his band of Musketeers!

Bastien Bonlivre's parents - both celebrated authors - are dead. Bastien must live in an orphanage run by the tyrannous Monsieur Xavier, who bans storytelling after lights-out, puts him in the Isolation Chamber and confiscates his friend’s musical instruments. When writers start disappearing in Paris, the orphanage children grow suspicious. Xavier, in Rumpelstiltskin fashion, forces Bastien to fix a bunch of broken typewriters. During this time, he uncovers a secret message which sets him and his friends on the trail of the odious and malevolent forces at work in the capital.

Claire Povey has done a marvellous job of captivating children’s imaginations with a dark tale that will appeal to fans of Lemony Snicket. The cast of characters is diverse, and Povey creates tension without abandoning those charming linguistic flourishes which make middle grade books such a joy to read. This is a book for the Francophiles, the bookworms and the high achievers, which will also intrigue even the most reluctant of readers. There is quite of a lot of French vocabulary used without translation, which might put some readers off, but for those with a basic knowledge of the language it does a good job of making the reader feel clever (juste un petit peu).

It would work well as a class reader for upper Key Stage 2 and lower Key Stage 3, with cross-curricular links to French, Geography, History and PSCHE. There are big moral questions about the importance of ideas and the written word, about personal liberty, crime and punishment, war, nepotism, greed and artifice. It's a great springboard for classroom discussion, a story told with great heart.

This is a real pain au raisin of a book, a solid story dotted with sweet morsels of companionship, humour and wit. It has strong potential for feature film adaptation. I know who I would cast in the role of Olivier Odieux.

With the start of the new academic year fast approaching, this is the second year in a row that I haven’t really been anywhere, other than a daytrip to London to meet up with a friend I made on Twitter and a flying visit to Norwich for a dental check up. Like so many others, my summer travels have therefore been through the pages of the books that I have read. In one or two cases, I have spent my reading time firmly sat on my sofa at home, but a few books – like this one – have so captured my imagination that I have felt transported to other, far more exciting, locations.

In the case of this new title, I have spent a virtual minibreak visiting the French capital – somewhere I have only visited once, a few years ago, but a city that has stayed with me and of which I was delighted to be reminded. While I have relished the last few days, the same cannot be said for our hero Bastien, who finds himself trapped in the bleakest of orphanages following the terrible deaths of his much loved author parents in a fire.

Bastien is not the only new figure in the orphanage, as the previous – more kindly – director has been replaced by the cruel and mean-spirited Monsieur Xavier who has not only stolen all of the boys’ belongings to sell for his own gain, but has also forbidden the telling of stories to compound his charges’ misery. Determined to hang on to the few precious reminders of his parents, including a notebook they gave him, Bastien hides them beneath a loose floorboard under his bed.

When his friend Theo manages to create a lockpick out of bits and pieces he has found, the pair leave the orphanage for a few hours and head to bookshop Le Chat Curieux, where they are made welcome by Bastien’s friend Alice and her family. Not wanting to reveal the true horror of his new life, Bastien makes polite small talk with Alice and discovers from her that several authors have mysteriously gone missing within the past few weeks, making him wonder if their disappearances could be linked to the deaths of his parents.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Paris, popular author Olivier Odieux is battling to produce his latest read, but failing dismally. With his family’s fortune rapidly diminishing, Odieux is forced to resort to desperate measures to try to keep his head above water and maintain his reputation. As Bastien starts to investigate the events surrounding his parents’ deaths, he discovers that there are further mysteries involved, and secrets that threaten his life too. With the help of Theo and Alice will he be able to find out what those mysteries are, and will he be able to leave the orphanage once and for all?

The power of a good story is something that is known to so many of us, and here Bastien uses his wonderful imagination to good effect to share tales with the other orphans, to bring some joy to their otherwise dreadful lives, with his character in stark contrast to those of our baddies, Monsieur Xavier and Odieux. Xavier’s banning of not just physical books, but story telling itself, is such a cruel way of denying his charges even the smallest of pleasures, while Odieux also recognises the power of the imagination but is unable to summon up enough ideas to write anything decent to meet the deadlines he finds himself facing. Through their differing relationships with stories, the three are linked somehow but as the reader we are not entirely sure how – something that I hope will be further explored in the sequel.

I really enjoyed this book, with its brilliant descriptions of the settings and characters which held me captivated from start to end. Bastien and his friends are wonderful – brave, but not overly confident in their skills and abilities, and fiercely loyal to one another – making them totally believable – while our baddies are thoroughly nasty pieces of work who I felt very cross with throughout the story as they showered not only Bastien with their cruelty, but those around him.

With another adventure in the pipeline, there will be many readers like me who are keenly anticipating whatever happens next to our young hero. Until then, enormous thanks must go to Usborne Publishing and Net Galley for my advance read ahead of publication on September 2nd. 5 out of 5 stars.

A brilliant adventure set in 1920s Paris, this is the perfect story for fans of Robin Stevens or Anna James. A book full of mystery and intrigue, but with a fun bookish edge! It shows the power of great story telling and even greater friendship.

When Bastian finds himself an orphan after his parents suddenly die in a mysterious fire he strives to get to the bottom of what happened. He has to learn who he can and can't trust on the way, developing a new family for himself. The characters are fun (and some also dastardly), the back drop of the streets and catacombs of Paris is magnificent, and the addition of some French words along the way 8s a really nice touch.

This is a brilliant story for anyone looking for an action-packed adventure from the comfort of their home!

This is a lovely, bookish middle-grade adventure, set in Paris. Perfect for fans of Anna James' Pages & Co series. As the book starts our hero, Bastien, is living in a terrible orphanage, his parents having died in mysterious circumstances. All he has to remember them by is a notebook, which they entrusted to him. Meanwhile, someone is kidnapping authors all over Paris, and that someone also has designs on Bastien's notebook! He sets out to find out what is happening to his author friends and along the way discovers more about what happened to his parents. This is a brilliant book, which features stories at it's heart and also features some of the best baddies I've encountered in a while! I am pleased to report that there are more adventures to come.

Bastien Bonlivre has just been made an orphan following the death of his famous writer parents who were killed in a suspicious hotel fire. Under French laws, his family friends who own Le Chat Curieux bookstore in Paris where he and his parents lived are not allowed to adopt him, therefore he is forced into an orphanage where life is anything but enjoyable. Bastien soon makes friends with the other boys, in particular Theo, and despite the best efforts of the orphanage's cruel master, Xavier, the children manage to get by, with Bastien's natural talent as a story-teller helping them.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Paris, Olivier Odieux is a writer who is struggling to finish his latest novel and is plotting the most evil way to solve his problem. But how are the two things connected and can Bastien and his friends stop Olivier before it's too late?

Ok, so disclaimer: I have a real soft-spot for books set in Paris so when I heard about The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre, I was immediately drawn to it and was desperate to read it (thanks to Usborne for approving my NetGalley copy); what I wasn't prepared for though, was just exactly how much I would love this book! It's absolutely brilliant and I wish I was still engrossed in it!

Why is it so good?

The setting. Ok, so I have to mention this first! As I said, it's set in Paris so descriptions of various parts of the city dance off the page to remind me just how much I love the place. From the idea of the bookstore and bookish community, to the winding streets of Montmartre and even the catacombs under the city (really curious to take a tour of those now!), I was transported back to the city I love. Even the food described took me back there (well, perhaps not the food served in the orphanage!)

The characters. There are a host of wonderful characters woven into this story; some of whom you will love whilst there are others you will most definitely hate! Bastien is a resilient young man who is determined to discover the truth about everything that is going on. He is a natural story-teller and his imagination (as well as his stories) helps to boost the other boys' morale - I also happen to really like the short stories he tells that are within the main story. Theo is also a rather wonderful character and the very best friend to Bastien (which is completely reciprocated). I also want to mention Alice who lives with her parents in Le Chat Curieux: she is a rather fiercely determined young lady with the best abode in the world (she lives in/above a bookshop in Paris for goodness sake!)
Finally, a word about the baddies: Xavier, who runs the orphanage, clearly hates children and reminded me very much of Miss Trunchbull in Matilda! Also, Olivier, who will stop at nothing to get what he wants - I guarantee you will love to hate them!

The plot. Set in 1920's Paris, The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre very much has the feel of a classic adventure story and has all the elements you need: good versus evil, tension, action, characters you love to hate, plot twists, escapism ... there's even a map! With messages about resilience and friendship, this is a book that I guarantee will make you feel-good, will put a smile on your face and will leave you wanting more.

Released on September 2nd, The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre is a must-buy book and I will absolutely be pre-ordering a copy for myself ... now, I wonder how long until book 2 is out?!

This is a wonderful book for children 9-12 by Clare Povey. Bastien Bonlivre’s parents are well known writers and die in mysterious circumstances in a hotel fire. Bastien is placed in an orphanage under the evil guardianship of Xavier Odieux. Bastien becomes friends with the other orphans including Thoe and Sami and soon discover that other writers across France are vanishing ; and so begins an adventure that takes our heroes on a journey across Paris and its famous catacombs to outwit the evil Xavier and his brother Olivier.
Paris has been a wonderful backdrop to children’s fiction ( The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick and Roofttoppers Katherine Rundell) and The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre holds its own with them . The use of storytelling within the story as Bastien tries to comfort the other orphans of their fears is fantastic . This is a perfect book for upper Ks 2 who like a good adventure tale . It is fast paced with a good balance of tension building and action. It would make a great class read. A book i will recommend … roll on the next adventure.

The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned adventure story. Set in 1920s France, it’s an ode to Paris and to very art of storytelling.

Bastien Bonlivre is made of stories. As the son of bestselling authors, the art of writing runs through his blood. After the unexplained death of his parents, Bastien has found himself in a orphanage to rival that of Oliver Twist. Ruled by an evil dictator, Bastien and the boys are underfed, under loved and constantly under attack. When famous authors begin to disappear, it’s up to Bastien to investigate. Will he get his happily ever after or does his story have a more dark and disturbing ending?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It had the feel of a classic adventure story and Povey has perfected the art of twists and turns. It’s a lively, fast-paced tale with characters to root for and baddies to abhor! It would be a welcome addition to any classroom. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC - I very much hope to read a sequel in the future.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure set in 1920s Paris. I say that because Paris itself is almost a secondary character. The author clearly loves France and it shows.

Bastien is an orphan, in the most horrible orphanage you can imagine. Of course, there are quite a few orphans in children’s books, think of Oliver Twist, in the book of that name, and Sara Crew, in A Little Princess. But he also has an incriminating notebook, and a talent for telling stories. It is this talent which brings the orphans together, and enables them to overcome the director of the orphanage (did I mention the words “evil baddie”?) and his even more dastardly brother. After many twists and turns the story ends happily, with more adventures for Bastien and his friends to follow.

A great read for fans of Lauren St John, Robin Stevens, and Joan Aiken.