For fans of Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy comes a thrilling adventure about a brave girl who finds a portal to parallel worlds, and must protect her secret from the evil forces trying to capture it. All her life, Tess has lived at Miss Ackerbee's orphanage with her friends and her pet tarantula, Violet. But one day, a mysterious man named Mr. Cleat shows up and whisks Tess away to live with him. Before Tess leaves, Miss Ackerbee gives her a strange lens, and makes an even stranger admission: that Tess can travel to parallel worlds, and has been able to do so since she was found as a baby. Now, with her newfound abilities and the mysterious lens in tow, Tess must navigate life with Mr. Cleat and his nefarious housekeeper, who seem to be up to more than they let on. As Tess learns about the lens and its role in transporting her to other worlds, she discovers that behind Mr. Cleat's oily smiles is a darker intention: one that could bring the world to its feet. Can Tess keep her secret from Mr. Cleat, and figure out what he's up to? And what if the lens falls into the wrong hands? With the help of Violet and her friends from the orphanage, Tess can finally discover the truth about Mr. Cleat and, more importantly, herself. “A twisty, fantastical adventure .” – School Library Journal, starred review “A good old-fashioned  engaging and inventive page-turner .” – Kirkus Reviews “Does a marvelous job building a familiar but slightly strange world , filled with intrigue and possibility ."  —Booklist Sinéad O'Hart is Irish, and lives in County Sligo, in the wild northwest of Ireland, known as "Yeats Country" because of its influence on the great poet. She has been many things, including a butcher's assistant, a travel adviser, a writing instructor, an English tutor, a bookseller, and a proofreader, but the only thing she has ever really wanted to be is a reader and a writer. She has a PhD in Old and Middle English language and literature, which is a useful source of story material. She is active on social media at @SJOHart and sjohart.tumblr.com. 1     thursday, may 1, 1941     In the basement of Ackerbee’s Home for Lost and Foundlings, two young girls were at work. One had a pair of glasses perched on her nose and her pet tarantula, Violet, perched on her head. In each hand she held a piece of thin wire that she was gradually--and very carefully--bringing closer together. The other was watching, breath held, and trying not to get in the way.   “Steady,” said the first girl, her dark eyes fixed on the gap between the wires. “Almost there . . .”   Unfortunately her friend--lost in admiration for the science taking place before her very eyes--chose just that moment to nudge some glassware with an unwary elbow and a round-bottomed beaker crashed to the floor.   There was a sudden spark as the wires the first girl had been holding met unexpectedly quickly, followed by a babble of apology from the other, who was already dropping to her knees to collect the shards of broken glass.   “Sorry!” she said for the tenth time in as many seconds. “I really am! I didn’t mean to, Tess, I swear.”   Tess sighed before joining her friend on the floor. “I know, Wilf. Your timing is perfect, though. As usual.” She picked up the larger pieces of beaker with the skill that comes from long practice; Wilf averaged two breakages a week.   Wilf--who had discarded her given name, Wilhelmina, as soon as she was old enough to say it and long before she was old enough to know how to spell it--reddened. “I’m never going to be a scientist if I can’t stop destroying my equipment,” she muttered.   Tess looked at her friend. “Don’t be silly, you goose,” she replied. “You’re already a scientist. Just think of it as a study of gravity. Or,” she continued, holding up a shard and peering through it, “an examination of the smashiness of glass.”   “That’s not a word,” Wilf scoffed, though her green eyes shone with amusement in her pale face.   “I just said it, didn’t I?” Tess retorted, placing the shard carefully in her palm. As she reached for the next piece, her tarantula stirred on her head. “What’s up, girl?” she murmured, glancing upward.   “Is something wrong?” asked Wilf, but before Tess had a chance to answer, the door to their “lab” was opened. Tess felt Violet relax, settling back into the tangle of Tess’s hair.   “Girls?” came a voice they both knew.   “Miss Whipstead,” Wilf said, getting to her feet. “We’re down here.”   “Ah. Wilhelmina. Another breakage?” their teacher said with a fond smile.   “Just a small one,” Wilf replied, blushing again.   “Never mind, eh?” Miss Whipstead said, throwing her a wink. “Now, Tess? Miss Ackerbee needs you upstairs.”   Tess clambered to her feet. Violet began to thrum a bit, sensing her worry. “Miss Ackerbee needs to see me?”   “As I said. Can you come now, please? It’s a bit of an emergency. Leave that clearing up to Wilf--I’ll come and give her a hand in a minute.”   “An emergency?” Tess echoed