Eleven-year-old Rosa Mundi (white) “lived in a world where she hoped there was magic,” setting the stage for a classic orphan story with a cat-centric dollop of fantasy. Orphaned as a toddler, Rosa has been living with her sketchy aunt and uncle whose care ranges from negligent to malicious. Fortunately, Rosa’s lonely life is enlivened by the companionship of Balthazar, the cat living a pampered life next door, who first entered her room through a closed window. On a trip to Venice, Rosa’s aunt and uncle dump her at a small family-run hotel, where she learns how to communicate with the Italian-speaking owners and ventures into the city on her own. Interactions with Venetian cats and a near fatal encounter with her so-called caretakers culminate in a magical interlude with a winged lion statue and restored memories of the loving connection she once shared with her parents. Ensconced in her newfound hotel family, Rosa’s promising future seems assured. The nostalgic trope of the hard-luck orphan who finds happiness gets a fresh take with a contemporary setting and a dose of the fantastical.

“Beautiful, captivating, such a joy to read I didn’t want it to end!” —Sophie Anderson, bestselling author of The House with Chicken Legs

From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes a “delightful” (School Library Journal) illustrated middle grade novel in the spirit of Matilda about a lonely orphan who dreams of escaping her ghastly aunt and uncle.

Rosa has always believed there is magic in the world. Or at least, she hopes there is. She lost her parents when she was four, and her aunt and uncle moved into her home not long after, transforming it from a messy place of love and warmth to a cold world of business. Their approach to family is as phony as the plastic grass they sell, keeping Rosa at arm’s length and tucking her in at night by locking her in her room.

Now eleven, Rosa’s loneliness threatens to overwhelm her. Her only solace is the magic she sees around her, particularly in a cat named Balthazar who comes to—and through—her window. When all the teachers at her school win the lottery and quit their jobs, Rosa’s aunt and uncle seize the opportunity to put an evil plan into action. They whisk Rosa away to Venice, intending to abandon her there. Luckily for Rosa, there are cats in Venice—and a laughing boy in a gondola and a family making sure she is fed.

In Rosa’s darkest hour, can the magic she’s never lost faith in save the day?