After young Orion disappears, his sister, Meg, finds herself unable to sleep. Restless with insomnia, she creeps out of her house one night, leaps across the roofs of London, and comes upon a seance, where she discovers not only an urchin she believes could be her brother, but also a sleepless and wandering Charles Dickens. Dickens, a customer in her father's print shop and a family friend, is seeking inspiration for his next book, and he finds it as he joins Meg's search for her missing sibling. Buzbee, author of the award-winning Steinbeck's Ghost (2008), has humanized another literary giant, revealing not only Dickens' humor and foibles but also the seedy, cruel underside of nineteenth-century London, including its exploitation of children. While exploring basic human rights issues, Buzbee also offers a rollicking good historical mystery, written in Dickens' style and illustrated with appealing line drawings, which include a subtle tip of the hat to a more contemporary London that a few readers may catch.--Bradburn, Frances Copyright 2010 Booklist

Buzbee (Steinbeck's Ghost) pens a charming and gripping tale that is, at its heart, a love letter to Charles Dickens. The scene is 1862 London, at which point Dickens has achieved fame. He is a close friend of the family that operates a print shop he frequents ("The famous Mr. Dickens seemed a wholly other person from the one who used to bring Meg boxes of Turkish Delight"). Meg's older brother, Orion, has been missing for six months when the book opens; haunted by his disappearance and having difficulty sleeping (something she has in common with Dickens), Meg teams up with the author, and the unlikely pair investigate Orion's disappearance and gather ideas for a novel. Their adventures take them from the city streets to underground bars and grim workhouses. Buzbee creates solid characters (and certainly has fun naming them, as did Dickens) and an authentic flavor of Dickensian London, enhanced by Ruth's striking and evocative b&w drawings (not all seen by PW), while addressing issues of feminism, the search for identity, and child abuse. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 5-8-Meg's older brother, Orion, has mysteriously disappeared. Unable to bear his absence, the 12-year-old steals away one evening and sights him in an unlikely place. That same night, she bumps into her family print shop's famous patron, Charles Dickens, and the pair partner to bring Orion home. Naturalistic black-and-white drawings bring the tale to life. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Peter Pan and Redwall)--and even silly nods to Monty Python--pepper meaty subjects from London's cruel workhouses teeming with stolen children to humanity's "haunting" moral obligation to combat injustice. The sights, sounds and stenches of 19th-century London are palpable even without the moody black-and-white illustrations. (note on "Children and Charles Dickens") (Historical fiction. 11 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

It was time to stop waiting for Orion's return...It was time to go after him." Meg's older brother has been missing for six months, having vanished from the rooftop of their London home. Meg must use her wits--and the resources of enigmatic family friend Charles Dickens--to find Orion. Buzbee uses Victorian literary style to good effect in this engaging mystery. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.