Sleuth on Skates

Beauvais makes an uproarious U.S. debut with the story of 11-year-old Sophie “Sesame” Seade, who lives at Cambridge University, roller skates everywhere, and has been waiting all her life for a mystery to solve. Finally, one arrives in the form of missing university student Jenna Jenkins, a gossip columnist and ballerina. Sesame, with help from her two best friends, tries to find out who’s behind this disappearance, despite interference from her parents (her mother is the head of Christ’s College, her father the chaplain). Sesame has a “taste for sophisticated terminology,” as she puts it, which makes some hilarious moments as it becomes clear that she doesn’t always fully understand what she’s saying (“Papa chéri, fire of my loins, can I go out for a walk?” she asks her father memorably, getting an appropriately horrified reaction). Horne’s spot illustrations brim with energy (full of clips, combs, braids, and flyaway curls, Sesame’s hair has a life of its own) and can be as edgy as the narration. A bitingly funny kickoff to the Sesame Seade series. Ages 7–11. Author’s agent: Kirsty McLachlan, David Godwin Associates. Illustrator’s agency: Advocate Art. (Oct.)