Alice-Miranda in China by Jacqueline Harvey

Title: Alice-Miranda in China

Author: Jacqueline Harvey

Genre: Fiction/Mystery

Publisher: Puffin

Published: 17^th September 2019/29^th August 2016

Format: Paperback

Pages: 368

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: Fun, festivities and fireworks!

Alice-Miranda and her friends are on a school exchange in China! There’s so much to see and do, and plenty of new people to meet. Among the whirlwind of sights is a breathtaking circus show, a hair-raising feat and an encounter with a family of acrobats.

While some are having a great time, others haven’t quite landed on their feet. Throw in clashing personalities and the theft of a priceless antiquity, and sparks are set to fly. There may be more than just fireworks in store for Alice-Miranda and her friends . . .

~*~

Alice-Miranda is back for her fourteenth adventure! Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale and Fayle are off on a joint school trip to Bright Stars Academy in China. All her friends are going, including a last-minute change that seems to create lots of friction. They’re on a tight schedule, trying to fit everything in, including their cultural experiences and getting to see a breathtaking acrobatic performance. It’s sure to be an interesting trip.

But things are amiss. There are whispers of thefts, smuggling goldfish and personality clashes as certain people try to make the trip suit them and flout the rules. Alice-Miranda knows there is ore to what they are being told. But just how much will she become embroiled in the thefts and mystery?

The fourteenth Alice-Miranda takes the characters to the other side of the world for a new adventure as they progress through their school years at boarding school. China is a new experience for everyone, including Caprice who is determined to push her beliefs about what they will have to eat or do on everyone. She’s in fine form in this book, and she might meet her match in this one too. Alice-Miranda and Jacinta love meeting Summer and Coco, two girls who perform as acrobats. Summer is well-known, beloved by all but has a dark secret that links back to someone the girls don’t expect.

Things simmer along slowly along, with a few hints dropped here and there, so you never really know who fits in where or who is up to what. It is cleverly done to ensure readers are engaged and want to find pit what is going on, and whether Alice-Miranda and her friends will be caught up in whatever is going on.

It sits well within the series, taking the characters to new places so they can experience new things, and the readers can experience these things alongside them. Alice-Miranda in China shows the kids growing up as they move through school and imagining what they will do in the future. This is a great addition to the series, and as always, the mystery that they have to solve is suitable for kids to get involved with, and makes sense in the story, once all the pieces fall into place. Things are drip fed to the reader, so things might not always seem important, yet they are. It’s what makes this book work so well.

Everything works well in this book as a new story and a continuation of the series, It stands alone well, and then continues the series and moves it along well, so I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of the series goes. Onto book fifteen and beyond!