My first Jessie Burton book and it will definitely not be my last!!

"What you love can never be lost."

This book follows the story of a lost treasure, a treasure that possesses an ability that many want. But who will find it first? And what will it cost?

This book was brilliant! I couldn't put it down. Everything about the storyline was so well put together.

I enjoyed the added element of the story being set in the war, with one of the characters being conscripted into the army. It was a nice touch to the time period and environment the characters were living in.

I loved the idea of the treasure and the power it possessed. It was like a treasure hunt with all of the different parts they had to find, whilst also being a bit of a race against time and people.

I'm gutted that it's pitched slightly too high for the year group I teach, because I desperately want to share this with a class! This would be SUCH a good book to read aloud. I'd say it's pitched for upper KS2.

It was such a warm and cosy read and I would fully recommend it, even for those who do not teach or have children. I absolutely loved it as an adult!

I fell in love with Jessie Burton’s writing when I read Medusa. Hidden Treasure, for a slightly younger audience of readers is a triumph. I loved the story line and characters. Bo is a strong, bold main character but her trusting nature finds her in trouble, Themes of poverty, friendship, war, loss, greed, grief and love are superbly handled by the author and I love the way Bo and Billy worked things out from the bits of information they had, until the full picture became clear.

Jessie Burton is one of my favourite authors and I love everything she writes. I thought the opening of this latest book was excellent. It felt so atmospheric and intriguing and also homely, which immediately made me feel at ease with Bo Delafort. She made mudlarking sound like fun, although I imagine you can discover some very unpleasant things in the Thames! The introduction of Billy Rivers and the discovery of the treasure was mysterious and set the book up so well- I certainly wanted to keep reading!
This book will make a great book group title- it has everything: mystery, adventure, friendship and a great villain.

This is about Bo, a girl living on the banks of the Thames during the First World War. As a mudlark, she spends her days searching for treasures along the river, and one day she discovers a mysterious golden moon. What follows is an unlikely friendship and a magical adventure filled with history, folklore, and intrigue.

The story has a bit of everything—adventure, excitement, sadness, tension, and evil—woven skillfully into a captivating narrative. I’ve always loved the idea of mudlarking and unearthing treasures from the past, so this story was right up my alley.

Thank you, Jessie Burton and Bloomsbury, for this incredible book! With London and the Thames almost becoming characters themselves, the story brims with mudlarks, actresses, hidden libraries, ghosts from the past, precious jewels, and even a solar eclipse. It was impossible to put down!

Out on March 13.

Hidden Treasure by Jessie Burton is a spellbinding adventure full of magic, mystery, lore, love friendship and heartbreak. I loved Bo, Billy and Eddie and the darker tone of the villains. The ballads and treasures were so unique and captivating and I thought the historical setting and twists were brilliant. I can’t wait to see what Jessie Burton writes next.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

This is the first book from the author I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bo is a mudlark, searching the banks of the river for treasure and missing the brother who has gone off to war.
One day, she finds something unusual, calling to her from the river, and meets Billy.
A really unusual story and a great read.

Jessie Burton’s first venture into writing for older children and this book has all the ingredients they could possibly want - this older adult enjoyed the story immensely too! The book has the great river Thames at its heart and a couple of ‘mudlarks’ who come across the hidden treasure of the title.. Of course there is much more to it than that, with villains, intrigue, plenty of suspense and the first blossoming of romance in the two youngsters at the heart of the story. It’s difficult to write more without giving spoilers, but if you have a 10-12 year old looking for a good book, you just found it!

I did not at first realise this was a story for young readers, but that makes sense after finishing the book. It really is an adventure involving treasure, villains, ghosts and disguise with 12 year olds, and all with the First World War and the mighty Thames at its heart.

Hidden Treasure Jesse Burton

I have known about Jesse Burton as an adult writer but not yet encountered her children’s books. Hidden Treasure is an astonishing story set in the last months of WWI. Bo, our leading lady, has said goodbye to her brother as he marches off to the Somme. That very same day, she finds extraordinary treasure while mudlarking on the Thames.

When someone discovers her treasure, she is set on an adventure to find out more about the full moon set with pearls and rubies and the rumoured other half. Her new friend Billy, is helping her to piece together information and together they plan to reunite Billy with his lost mother, believing the rumours of the magic hidden in the treasure.

When war takes its victims and Bo is lost to grief, it is Billy who helps her find her way again and it is a stark truth to accept.

A phenomenal story of friendship, love and grief. I was captivated throughout and found the ending to be truly powerful.

Jessie Burton is an auto buy author for me after falling in love with so many of her stories, and in Hidden Treasure, she has done it again! Sublime!

It doesn’t seem possible that it’s over 10 years since Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist was published to huge acclaim. A book that I – like many others – read and really enjoyed, it immediately cemented her reputation as a writer and although she has gone on to write several other titles, that is possibly still the one for which she is best known. Having subsequently produced books aimed at young adults and middle grade readers, she has demonstrated her ability to create stories that appeal to a broad readership and here, in her latest title for young readers, she has come up trumps with a tale that I absolutely raced through.

When we meet our protagonist, 12-year-old Bo Delafort, she is mudlarking on the banks of the Thames at Battersea Bridge in the bright, August sunshine. Looking for something she will be able to sell to help support her family, Bo becomes aware of the river speaking to her – telling her to put her hands into its waters. Doing so, she moves her hands downwards to the clay beneath and touches part of something hidden there. Told not to let go, Bo takes hold of the object and finds herself transported to an unknown place – a room where an old man and a woman are talking by a table on which she can see gold and silver gleaming at her.

As the mud gives up its treasure, Bo finds herself back at the river wondering what has caused the vision and clutching the object – a silver moon, inlaid with precious stones. Unable to believe her luck at what she has found, Bo intends to rush home to show it to her older brother Harry, who will be leaving to fight in the war in a few hours’ time, but before she is able to do so, she is interrupted by the sudden appearance of another mudlarker – a boy who introduces himself as Billy River before vanishing.

Feeling compelled not to share the news of her discovery with Harry and her mother, Bo keeps it hidden from them but soon becomes aware that it is more than just a pretty trinket when a strange man tries to persuade her to part company with it, telling her that it belongs to him. Not believing him, Bo keeps hold of it and before long learns that it is half of an incredible treasure – one that will give its owner back the most precious thing that they have lost if the two pieces are reunited. Together with new friend Billy, Bo starts to search for the moon’s partner and starts to dream of what they could do with it. But even if they can find it, should the two of them put the two halves back together? And what will happen if they do?

The idea of coming across treasure is one that is appealing to everyone, no matter their age, but for children, who often have limited funds of their own and long lists of things that they would like to have, that treasure is frequently equated with limitless spending power. Here, Bo is only too well aware of her family’s lack of fortune but is also conscious that the river speaks to very few mudlarkers and has given up the silver moon to her for a reason and very quickly determines not just to keep hold of it but to search for its partner. In Billy, she finds a friend who doesn’t judge her actions or put pressure on her to do what her family would most likely consider to be the right thing and with whom she immediately feels at ease. As we follow their adventure, it appears that they may have been predestined to meet, and we can only watch and wait to see just why the river has brought them together.

Set just over a century ago, this is a book that is richly imagined and one that young readers will love. Here is a London very different from the one with which today’s children will be familiar – either from first-hand experience, or from films and TV – a city that is much quieter and slower than it is now, which allows the reader to savour the scenes the author creates. As we read on, the mystery of the moon and the missing piece that complements it deepens and there are numerous twists and turns in the plot that will cause those picking this up to gasp because they won’t see them coming.

A fabulous read for those in Year 4 upwards, Hidden Treasure publishes in hardback on 13th March and in paperback a year later. Before then, my huge thanks go to publisher Bloomsbury and to NetGalley for my advance virtual read.

“What you love can never be lost.”

Jessie Burton is most well known for her novel The Miniaturist and more recently her retelling of the story of Medusa.

Hidden Treasure is her debut in the world of children’s fiction.

This is a story that weaves together history, magic and a treasure hunt with a twist

Although set during the period of World War One, there is a Dickensian almost gothic feel to the tale - young Bo lives in Battersea and is known as a mud lark as she is often found near the Thames. Her brother has gone off to war and she lives with the fear of what will happen to him.

On one of her regular visits , she discovers a piece of jewellery known as The Eclipsing Moon. This jewel has magical powers and if held alongside another piece known as The Brightest Sun whilst recounting an ancient ballad then the river has the power to bring somebody back from the dead.

Aided by Billy River, threatened by the evil Mr Muncaster who believes the jewels are his and encouraged by the curious class teacher Miss Cressaant ( who has her own secrets ) Bo finds she has a magical abilities from the energy of the Thames

A race against time to find the missing jewel and ballad before an upcoming eclipse being the perfect time for the power of the river to do its magic, Bo and Billy overcome various obstacles.

This is a tale of self belief, survival and identity- of family and love - woven into a. magical adventure

An intriguing and captivating debut

Recommended for 10-12 year olds and readers of Hilary McKay and Emma Carroll