Title: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone: The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival
Author: Dene Low
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Release Date: June 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0547152509
Size: 208 pages, jardcover
Genre: Middle Grade
You would think Petronella’s sixteenth birthday would be cause for celebration. After all, fashionable friends are arriving at her country estate near London, teas are being served, and her coming out party promises to be a resplendent affair. Everything is falling nicely into place, until, suddenly—it isn’t. For Petronella discovers that her guardian, Uncle Augustus T. Percival, has developed a most unVictorian compulsion: He must eat bugs. Worse still, because he is her guardian, Uncle Augustus is to attend her soiree and his current state will most definitely be an embarrassment.
During the festivities, when Petronella would much rather be sharing pleasantries with handsome Lord James Sinclair (swoon), important guests are disappearing, kidnapping notes are appearing, many of the clues are insects, and Uncle Augustus is surreptitiously devouring evidence. It’s more than one sixteen-year-old girl should have to deal with. But, truth be told, there is far more yet to come . . .
Dene Low is the pen name of Laura Card. Card is open in her pr material about using the pen name.