The Truth About Verity Sparks

Verity Sparks #1

by Susan Green

Verity Sparks is a thirteen-year-old orphan working as a milliner in Victorian London. But Verity is no ordinary girl – she has an almost perfect memory and possesses the talent of Teleagtivism. She can easily find things that are lost! When Verity is wrongly accused of theft and dismissed from her job, she goes to live with the Plushes – a slightly Bohemian family who run a Confidential Inquiry Agency. Verity helps them solve cases and slowly becomes one of the family. But patches of the truth about her past begin to surface, along with the special talent that Professor Plush is helping her explore. Who were her real parents? Is she the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter? Who is sending poison pen letters about Verity to the Plushes? Who doesn’t want them to learn the truth about Verity Sparks? An adventure/mystery with a dash of the supernatural thrown in; The Truth About Verity Sparks is packed with chases through the dark alleys of London, séances in high-class dining rooms, pet pythons named Anthony and Cleopatra, murdered opera singers and much, much more.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Historical

297 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Saadia B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of a thirteen years old Verity Sparks who worked as a milliner in London. She had an almost perfect memory and possessed the talent of Teleagtivism. She was wrongly accused of theft and was dismissed from work. She met Mr. Plush who ran a confidential inquiry and was hired by Lady Throttle, whose brooch went missing and was found in her own pouch later on.

Miss Sparks told Mr. Plush that the brooch was in the pouch, hence he was interested in finding more about her. Verity started living with the Plushes – a slightly Bohemian family, and also worked as the assistant investigator for their firm. Her uncle told her that Verity was an orphan and Ma Pa had adopted her as she was left out in a basket.

Verity now could see images from the past by looking at pictures so Mr. Plush took her to Miss Maria who could also do the same. Ma gave some ornaments to Verity before dying, one was a locket which belonged to the seventh star who had special gifts. Someone was after Verity and even chased her but she managed to run away.

It was Alexander who was after Verity's life because of the fortune she owned. After his dead Verity got all the money and also her father. The Plush family decided to move out to Australia, so Verity and her father also went there.

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[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover illustrator for this book is Lisa Coutts. She is an Australian artist and some of her art is currently displayed at an art gallery near where I live in Melbourne. I went to the art gallery and the one piece of art I particularly wanted to see had already been sold. It was of a girl on a bike with a little dog in a basket behind her. One of the workers told me I could commission the artist to do another one for me. Since any commissioned art must be 30% different from the original, the girl on the bike will now look like me and the dog will look like my own little Pomeranian, Buddy. I'm so excited to have this amazing souvenier from Australia. I will have it framed at the gallery and shipped from the gallery to Texas. This way, I don't have to pay any GST, government state tax. Sweet! The book is turning out to be wonderful.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book! I was a bit skeptical about adding to my read list cause it was set in 1878 (I'm not much of a period reader) but I can see why the book was set in this time. The story flowed really well, it was also funny and the end was just lovely. Where can I get my own seventh star lucky piece?

There were many funny moments in the book. My favourite one by far:
"The young man has sustained a blow. The brain naturally resents being thrown around inside the skull and, as any injured tissue is liable to do, it swells."

[Lyn Battersby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyn is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Lyn herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.

A lovely story set in 19th Century England. Believable characters, dialogue and plot with a well written secret thrown in for good measure. A warm story with heart that leaves the reader feeling satisfied at the end.

[Anna Carles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verity Sparks has an unusual talent - she can find anything at all, just by thinking about it. This ability draws Verity into a world of corrupt countesses, private detectives, seances, and family mysteries.
By turns amusing, thrilling, sad, and with a happy ending, The Truth about Verity Sparks is a lovely story about finding out who you really are.

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. Really evocative of the Victorian era. The characters were all wonderful - endearing and so fleshed out. The plot was so clever and never got tired or boring. A perfect book for kids and the odd adult too!

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth About Verity Sparks is a AWESOME book about Verity Sparks trying to find her family. The book is based in London 1878 and Verity has a gift, she can find things just by thinking about them! But her gift can get her into LOTS of trouble/problems.

Rating: 9.5/10

[Shahnaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this book and translated it.the second book is verity sparks -lost and found-and the third book is verity sparks and the scarlet hand.i can say the second and third are better .but i love them all. they are a kind of story you never forgot them like dickens books .

[Tamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the ending! Didnt see it coming

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good. The characters are well presented; whether it's mysterious, talks like a book or artistic. Great twist I didn't expect at all. Verity's emotions were well explained.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this adventure for 9-12 year old girls that ticks the boxes of
historical, empowering and a mystery and suspense story. It is worth reading.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic tale that had me hooked from start to finish! Engrossing read with great details, well written accents and a well driven plot! I'll be purchasing a copy for my personal library.

[Reena Bhojwani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

It had the exact amount of Victorian London meets mystery meets superstitiousness that I didn’t even know I was looking for! Now, to the sequel!

[Journey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grand!

[Anna Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific mystery story set in London in the 1870s. The main character is very spunky and the other characters are all quirky individuals. At times, I wondered if there were too many characters for young readers to keep up with. I'm always pleased to find another well-written mystery series for middle primary students.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Green Light #1
Verity Sparks #1
Entertaining yarn which ran out of steam towards the end, perhaps about 30 pages too long.
Still quite a decent read.

[Karen ⊰✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute middle grade mystery where Verity is trying to undercover the truth around her parentage while also solving mysteries as an amateur sleuth.

[Julie Grasso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it was my sleep deprived brain, but I couldn't for the life of me keep a track of all the characters. When the climax came, I was scratching my head thinking, who was that. I tried really hard to enjoy this. The setting was great, I loved Verity, the cast of characters quirky. I am a bit befuddled as to what age this is pitched towards. The cover sells me for upper middle grade ages 10-12, but I felt the themes, and the general story arc, definitely more towards YA. I guess if its a straight YA then fine. I would like to read more of Verity's adventures, but alas, this one really didn't hit the mark for me.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay...pretty much describes my feelings on the book. I was surprised that it made the CBA list to be honest. But I dont really have much experience with the listed books so I cant say too much about that. At first I was excited as the blurb really drew me in...I was imagining that so much would be done with this story. On reading in about a third of the way I was still really engaged as the author was beginning to create a sort of lemony snippets world in which the charachters lived and I really like being taken somewqhere different in a story. The mystery side of it was okay but it left me wondering at the end of the book why they had introduced certian parts of the story that seemed to go nowhere and have no purpose to the ending of the story. Maybe the younger readers will enjoy this book, I may be expecting too much as i am only new to the youth genre having just become a primary teacher. I think though that the grade 6 kids will struggle with alot of the language in the book so it would only be suited to stronger readers even though the grade 5-6 kids would definately cope with the story fine.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old milliner's apprentice Verity leads a normal life in London, 1878. But when she discovers that she has a rare talent—teleagtivism—which means that she can find things by simply thinking about them—her life changes forever. She meets the kind Plushes of the Confidential Inquiry Agency and helps them find missing objects around London, but while doing this, clues to Verity's past begin to surface, and questions come to mind. Verity must now discover her own mysterious past, and troublesome things begin happening. The Plushes try to protect her, but they are in danger too. Because, really, who doesn't want them to learn the truth about Verity Sparks?

I found this book interesting, and surprising when Verity learned about her true past. Some parts were saddening, but it made the story more interesting to read. I, as an aspiring author, have attempted to write a mystery story once, but failed, and this story helped me figure out how to write a proper mystery novel—I always had trouble putting the pieces together to form a satisfactory solution. This was an intriguing story about discovering who you really are.

[Rana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verity Sparks is an orphaned Milliner's apprentice in London, 1878, who knows nothing about who her real family is, or who she is.
She forced out of her job after being framed for a robbery and then, rejected by her drunk "Uncle", and thrown on to the streets.
Luckily, the wealthy Plush family take Verity in after witnessing her being framed for a robbery and discover her special talent of finding things.
The Plush's run a confidential inquiry agency and ask Verity use her powers to help them solve their mysteries.
But when a mysterious man starts following Verity, and their carriage is hijacked, her life is in danger.
Will she ever discover the Truth about Verity Sparks?

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a very interesting concept - with the idea of people having special powers. There was a little focus on the scientific examination of Verity's ability, though it wasn't boring or dreary to read at all. I do, however, feel as though the book had so much potential to be more than what it ended up as. Don't expect anything too wild or involved, though there were certain parts which stopped it from being entirely predictable and dry. All in all, it was an enjoyable light read for a quiet afternoon(I finished it in a couple of hours).

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet! Reminded me of Gail Carriger a little bit - the proper English lass who (seems to) love her tea. Made me a little sad, that there wasn't any more in the Alexia/Connall series. Oh well. That isn't what I'm meant to be talking about. Verity is certainly a spunky little MC, and the setting is lavish - reminiscent of Lemony Snickett's esoteric world. At least there are a couple good ones in the Young Readers category of the Aus Children's Book Council awards. Could be a winner, this one!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoughy Susan Green did a terrific job at describing the period for her readers through the characters depicted, their vocabulary and the scenery. It is a story that has a little bit of everything - mystery, poor girl finds happy ending, romance as well as a few sad moments. I would recommend it for middle years (Years 5 - 8)

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun kid's book that was pleasant to read and gave me a few hours of reading pleasure. Verity is an interesting girl with special powers and it is nice to see her end up in a happy family situation. I enjoyed the historical aspect of 19th century London and look forward to the sequel set in colonial Australia.

[Catherine Cavanagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book is mostly an enjoyable read, I wouldn't be recommending it to any upper primary or lower secondary school students at all. The best part is the interplay of the different levels of British social life of that era. The most concerning parts are the occult practices and a juvenile serial killer.

[The Bookshop Umina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verity Sparks has an unusual talent - she can find anything at all, just by thinking about it. This ability draws Verity into a world of corrupt countesses, private detectives, seances, and family mysteries.
By turns amusing, thrilling, sad, and with a happy ending, The Truth about Verity Sparks is a lovely story about finding out who you really are.

Our Junior Book Club gave it 10/9/9/8/9/7

[Rebecca Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet more great Young Adult fiction. Verity Sparks has a gift of finding things, her fingers itch and she gets images in her mind. But what is the truth behind Miss Sparks? Filled with creatures in dark cloaks, seances and skeletons in the closet. Great Read.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sat down to read this in the library the other day and didn't look up until I had finished it. Fun, quirky, interesting and well written. The story was a great idea but unfortunately didn't quite live up to the huge amount of potential the story, setting and charachters offered.

[Jasmine]

it is interesting and sad at the same time the truth about her was not good and it is a pretty good book all of my friends think it is interesting too and i wish susan green can write more interesting book again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!