The Jade Boy

by Cate Cain

Sorcery and mystery with a dose of horror and history.

Eleven-year old Jem Green works as a kitchen boy in the London household of a powerful Duke. He doesn't know who his father is and his life consists of never ending drudgery. But when the sinister Count Cazalon pays a visit to the Duke, Jem's world is turned upside down. The count is planning something terrible and Jem appears to be central to his wicked scheme. With the help of newfound friends - apprentice sorceress Ann, mind-speaking mute Ptolemy and his pet monkey Cleo, all prisoners of the Count in his macabre mansion - Jem must find out why he is so important to Cazalon and stop the devastation the count is about to unleash.

An absorbing adventure set in the reign of Charles II, just before the Great Fire of London.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Historical, Childrens

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2013

Reviews

[Tracey Mayhew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this alternate history of the Great Fire of London. This was a great historical fantasy for kids, although parts of it were really dark (well, it was for me!) which was both revolting and intriguing! I really liked Jem, Anne and Tolly but my favourite character was Cleo the monkey who was just too cute! The author did a really good job of making the reader for sympathy for each of the children and their various situations who were all at the mercy of the adults around them.

This loses a star because I felt that the ending was a little bit rushed and the solutions was just a little too convenient for me.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sorry to say that I found this disappointingly average. The premise of the tale itself was interesting, the plague and the great fire of London providing a captivating historical backdrop for a tale of old magic, friendship and terror. What let the concept down was the writing itself, it wasn't awful, but it was repetitive and slightly awkward throughout. The novel never truly gains a good momentum and the narrative twists are too obvious to really be surprising.
Having said all this, I am sure that there are those out there that would enjoy this all the same, I am clearly not a member of the author's target audience and perhaps an 11 year old would get far more joy from this novel than I did. I hope the sequel improves on the original.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very surprising book! ...but a bit gross at times. The descriptions were very detailed and sometimes I felt I was in the book. Not recommended for younger readers. I rated it 4 but then thinking again it my be a 3.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this rather lovely children's book.

I have always liked books that take events from history, but twist it to their own purposes. This book offers plenty of that! I love history, so this book was already ticking a lot of boxes!

The book is set just before the Great Fire of London, and gives the very interesting idea of what if the fire was not an accident...? Reading about London during this period is great, London is a place I know well and reading about it with different eyes is always great.

Jem Green is a good character, clueless enough to keep things from not being too obvious, I did guess a lot of things that were going to happen, but I have read an awful lot of books, and I think the target audience would not find it quite a predicable. Also the friends that Jem makes, Ann, Ptolemy and Cleo the monkey were great! Ptolemy interested me the most, being a mind-reading mute and I would like to read more about his home of birth. Count Cazalon was wonderfully awful and quite scary at times, reading about the things in his house made me shudder! I loved the intrigue about Jem's father and the reveal of that was done really well. I liked the magic side of the story, it fitted the story really well.

This is a good story for children, a high quality book that, as a teacher, I always like to see. I would also recommend to adults, who like historical stories with a magical twist.

I read this as part of my 2015 Reading Challenge, the category was to read a book with a colour in the title. I chose this story, because of the colour 'jade' in the title, also I liked that the main character was called Jem Green!

[M F]

I liked this book. I guessed several of the plot points but then, I'm significantly older than the target audience and that's to be expected. The descriptions were good: I really got a feel for the way the story worked. And the main characters were well developed. A few of the minor characters could have done with a bit more fleshing out, perhaps, but it's not like it was their story. And of course, ultimately it's a story about magic and stuff, so it's not going to be entirely believable, but I enjoyed how it was tied into history. A fun read that's easily comprehensible, so suitable for kids, but isn't written in the incredibly condescending style of some children's books, which I appreciated as a child just as I appreciate it now.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for older children and young adults filled with historical detail from the seventeenth century, as well as plenty of myth, magic and dark sorcery.

Jem is a servant boy working in the kitchens of a powerful Duke in London. His mother serves the Duchess and he does not know who his father is. However dark things are afoot, and Jem appears to be more interesting to some nasty and powerful people than a mere kitchen boy should be.

A nicely put together story. The ending does not quite tie up all the loose ends so perhaps a sequel is planned (and having written that I looked it up, and there is indeed a sequel). Still the story is complete enough as it stands.

[Tom Malinowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Jem Green is a mere servant of a Duke, when he encounters three young friends with slightly mysterious powers. The creepy Count Cazalon has a hidden hold on all of them. London in the 1660s is a great, unique setting. An enthralling read on how a friendship is formed through magic and heroism.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant cover, exciting premise (what if the Fire of London was set deliberately), but a disappointing read for me as plot developments never felt internally believable, and historical setting wasn't as vivid as I had hoped for. However, I'd perhaps recommend to those who like gothic horror.

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't hate this book. Somehow I thought I had picked up a Historical Fiction, and I guess in a loose manner it could qualify, maybe.
Bottom line, it wasn't what I wanted to read at the moment, and I was finding the characters difficult. Didn't finish.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the magical adventure good escapism for a summer read.

[Niki Hall]

A very good story line but it didn't really grab my attention at first. It took me a while to start to get into it but after a while it becomes very interesting

[Jaden⚡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.5 stars

The book was amazing and plot was exciting and intense but the autcrl ending was messed-up.

[razzmataz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good.
My favourite character was JEm.
I didn't like count Cazalon.