Product Description

While visiting her grandmother's house, an old photograph leads Tanya to an unsolved mystery. Fifty years ago a girl vanished in the woods nearby - a girl Tanya's grandmother will not speak of. Fabian, the caretaker's son, is tormented by the girl's disappearance. His grandfather was the last person to see her alive, and has lived under suspicion ever since. Together, Tanya and Fabian decide to find the truth. But Tanya has her own secret: the ability to see fairies. And, after disturbing an intruder in the night, it emerges that someone else shares her ability ...The manor's sinister history is about to repeat itself ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6215 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

About the Author
Michelle Harrison is 28 years old, and an editorial assistant in children's publishing. She is a former bookseller at Ottakars/Waterstones in Stafford. Originally from Grays in Essex, she is a keen illustrator as well as writer and now lives in Oxfordshire with her partner. The Thirteen Treasures is her first novel and a sequel is to be published in 2010.

Customer Reviews

A gripping page turner from beginning to end...
This is a superb novel which will have you bewitched from the very beginning to the very end... It is recommended for older children (10+) and adults, and tells the story of Tanya, a young girl who goes to stay at her grandma's manor house and soon begins to unravel a fifty year old mystery...coupled with this she has to contend with the second sight, her ability to see fairies, who are not always as nice as they seem...The characters are both lovable and memorable in this highly imaginative, well written novel. The cliffhanger leaves you breathless in anticipation of the next instalment... Fantastic.

A promise through the ages...
THE THIRTEEN TREASURES is the story of Tanya, a young girl whoe goes to stay with her grandmother in her large manor house. Whilst there, she discovers that there is a mystery surrounding the house and those who live there, which stretches back 50 years. She also has to contend with the fact that she has second sight - the ability to see fairies.

What I liked about this book is that, although there are many children's books out there at the moment that have fairies as their subject, Harrison seems to breathe new life into them. Tanya is a likeable character and her friend Fabian is definitely a breath of fresh air, as there is no subplot of them falling for each other; something which a lot of other authors seem to do.
There is ato be a sequel next year, and I for one shall look forward to reading it.
Highly recommended - perfect escapism.

A more-ish read!
The novel introduces us to Tanya who has some issues, apart from being harassed by fairies, her mother believes that she is being particularly difficult (mostly because of the pranks the fairies play), therefore sending her off to live with a grandmother she's never warmed to in a manor house that can be described as gloomy, at the best of times.

I found the novel a bit self-conscious to start with, there was a hesitancy there for the first few pages, but once the author gets into the swing of things, Tanya's adventure is full blown and it is a hairy one!

Her life at the manor house is stilted - there is no warmth from her grandmother, her days are spent avoiding the forest outside the door and trying not to draw the attention of Fabian, the grounds keeper's son. Fabian is an interesting creation and I found him very well drawn, with insecurities a mile long, a stubbornness and a weirdness, that was both endearing and a bit alarming.

Together Fabian and Tanya unravel the story of the girl that went missing in the forest, all those years ago. Fabian feels harassed by its memory - it's directly affected his family, turning his grandfather, Amos, into an unpleasant old man, locked away on the second floor of the manor house.

Throw in Fabian's dad who watches them with an eagle's eye, warning them to stay out of the forest, toss in the rumours of the hidden tunnels that run from the manor house into the small adjacent town, add into the mix mysterious disappearances of very young children in the area, pinch in a Tanya's own second sight ability which is both a curse and blessing, stir in the mystery surrounding the original owners of the manor house, fold in the weird gypsy lady who lives in the forest whose presence is a constant reminder that all is not well in the area, place in the oven and bake to perfection until you get a book with several ingredients, pulling together to make a hearty satisfying read.

I enjoyed it - I thought it was satisfyingly dark with the author reworking the Victorian image we have about fairies, shining a new light on them, their courts, making them a bit more sinister, turning them into proper adversaries to go up against Tanya and Fabian.

So much goes on in this novel that I can't even begin to put it all together into this review as it will spoil the fun you will have reading it.

I hate doing "if you like" recommendations BUT am happy to say that if you liked Holly Black's Tithe, Valiant and Ironside you will enjoy The Thirteen Treasures. Similarly, if you read Emma Bull's Finder or Midori Snyder's Hannah's Garden you will thrill to The Thirteen Treasures.