The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

Modo has been trained his entire life for two things—to be a deadly secret agent and to hide his deformed face from the outside world.  Now at the age of 14, having proven his skill at both, he is assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of London’s street children.  With the help of his fellow agent, Octavia, Modo must risk his life to fight the evil Clockwork Guild, rescue the children, and save London from destruction if he wants to successfully completely his first Hunchback Assignment.

Modo is a 14-year-old hunchback orphan with an unusual talent: shapeshifting. While using this talent to hide his face from the outside world, Modo battles evil with the guidance of his mentor, Mr. Socrates, his trainer, Tharpa, and his fellow agent, Octavia.  This book combines elements of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to create a highly entertaining steampunk adventure.  Recommended for all young adults in a public or school library setting.

Awards

2011 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire (France)
2010 TD Canadian Children's Literature Book Award
2010 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year: Honour Book
2009 Junior Library Guild Selection

Teen Interview

"This was a cool book.  I've actually read all of the books in the series so far.  I like how it's like a new spin on a classic story.  These books actually got me interested in reading older books like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Time Machine, stuff like that." 
Scott R., age 15

Scott is a fan of the steampunk genre and has read other steampunk books including Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, Worldshaker by Richard Harland, and Planesrunner by Ian McDonald.  He also reads science fiction and fantasy books.  Scott is busy with school and sports, so he reads about one book every couple of months during the school year, but he reads more in the summer.  Scott has a Facebook account but doesn't use it very often.  He prefers texting.

Learn More

Learn more about all of the books in the The Hunchback Assignments series at the Hunchback Assignments website.  On the website you can read excerpts from the books, play games, learn odd Victorian factoids, or like the series on Facebook.  You can learn more about Arthur Slade and his many other books on his website, or send him a message.

Watch the book trailer for The Hunchback Assignments below.

The Dark Deeps is the second book in the Hunchback Assignments series.  Watch a book trailer for The Dark Deeps below.

Continue the adventure of The Hunchback Assignments series with books 3 and 4:

Book #3

Book #4 (releases 9/11/2012)

Slade, Arthur G. The Hunchback Assignments. New York: Random House Children's Books, 2009. Print.
9780375893896; Hardback; $15.00; 288 pages

Also available in paperback, audiobook, and ebook formats.