I really enjoyed this story. It's just a little bit creepy, a little bit mysterious, and all awesome!
Emmeline's mother is a famous child psychologist and parenting guru, with several books, a publicist and everything. So when she gets an opportunity she can't refuse, to expand her reach via broadcast videos, helping hapless parents with their unruly broods for weeks at a time, she's got to find something responsible and laudable to do with her pre-teen daughter. Emmy's father is not in the picture and hasn't been for a while. So she ships Emmy off to a prestigious boarding school. In England. (Emmy lives in Connecticut.) Welp.
Somehow Emmy manages to say the right things and be supportive of her mother, but only because she's got a secret of her own. She recently received a letter from "a friend," telling her to keep her father's "relics" safe. It's puzzling. Her dad left when Emmy was three. She has only vague memories of him. But she knows he met her mom when they were both in England (even though her mom won't talk about it). Now, Emmy realizes, her father could have family -- she might have family -- in England. Right where she's headed. And that's reason enough to not fight her mom on the boarding school.
The letter sparks Emmy to search the family home for the "relics." Right before she leaves for Wellsworth, she rummages around in the fireplace and discovers…a hidden compartment with a box full of medallions. Even better, inside is a note from her dad. Telling her the same thing the "friend" told her -- to keep the relics safe -- and not to tell her mom about them.
She packs them up with her other stuff and heads off to Wellsworth, where she's woefully behind the other students. No Latin. No "humanities" or European history. The headmistress doesn't hide the fact that she doesn't think Emmy will survive the term, and the butler / maintenance man, Jonas, uses words like peaky, and Emmy has no idea what it means. Her roommate is downright hostile and vehemently opposes sharing the room.
She's placed in the Latin club, to catch her up, but apparently, even though she figures out the trick to finding the door to the club's hideout, she's not welcome. The members and the prof ignore her. Which is ok by her, as it seems several of the Latin club's members are in the infirmary, or have ended up there at various times, seriously injured.
She makes friends and allies with fellow students, Lola and Jack, who's brother is in the Latin society, which, it turns out, is the arm of an evil cabal.
From here I won't say any more; you'll have to read to figure out what happens, and how the medallions and Emmy's father fit into the overall scheme. But I loved this one for how intricate the plot was, how many small clues fall into place by the end, and how much thought and craft went into making all the puzzle pieces fit.
Enjoy!
