Book Review: The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby

I first heard of this book at the ULA Conference in Layton UT about a year ago.  Mr. Kirby spoke to us about character development and the steps he went through to have his first book published.  He also talked a bit about his book, and I admit that it intrigued me.  Sadly, it has taken me a long time to finally pick up the book and read it, simply because there are so many books and so little time!

The book is set in a turn-of-the-century fictional city.  We meet three children under the age of fifteen who have come face-to-face with difficulty and hardship.  They all have hardship of a different nature—Giuseppe is a boy who was sold to a patrone and can trust no one; Hannah’s father has suffered a stroke and she must take responsibility for her family; and Frederick is an orphan who is saved by a kindly clockmaker but is still plagued by the disappearance of his mother.  In spite of all of this darkness, the children are able to cling to hope that someday life will improve—the book is about perseverance through difficulty.  It also shows the importance of study, intelligence and hard work.  The book is riddled with ups and downs, but I loved the ending of this book.  I was delightfully surprised by how unpredictable it was.  I thought I had it all figured out, and turned out to be totally wrong.  I loved the way that Kirby took two mythologically-charged ideas (the automaton and the golem) and found a way to bring them together to form a sort of childhood steam-punk fantasy.  He was also adept at creating a turn-of-the-century world that was historically influenced, but that he could still manipulate.  I was completely satisfied.