Strange little creature. Strange pale eyes, so full of fear. Strange little monk, his habit black as nightmares, his surplice grubby as spilt milk. Strange little boy shaped like a question mark, who are you? Intrigue, superstition and adventure feature in the first book of a trilogy set in the dark world of medieval Naples and brought to life by spectacular double-spread graphic artwork. An orphaned boy is dressed as a monk and ostracised by everyone except the roaming wild cats of the Undercity for his scary looks and his ability to make bad things happen. Monacello searches above and below ground, determined to solve the mystery of his parents. After he encounters friendship from a little girl with a mysterious background of her own, it seems he can also bring good luck - a bringer of fortune; a wish granter. When a case of mistaken identity brings near disastrous consequences, this little monk must shake off his bad luck for good...
Geraldine McCaughrean is one of today's most successful and highly regarded children's authors. She has won the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children's Book Award (three times), the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Smarties Bronze Award (four times) and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Geraldine lives in Berkshire with her husband, daughter and golden retriever, Daisy.Read more about the author here.
'I reckon Geraldine McCaughrean knocks the socks off every other children's writer today. Everything she does is different and everything works – look at her list of prizes. She must write in tremendous bursts. Some years, she's so prolific the rest of us start joking that the fairies come in at night to do her work for her. Then she'll go quiet, so unlike all those writers who are persuaded by their publishers to come up with something every year, no matter how tired or drab. If Geraldine has nothing fresh to write, she doesn't write it.' (The Guardian)
