Harley is determined to win pupil of the term. Her inventions are brilliant, but her headmistress doesn’t think Harley fits the role, with her colourful hair and tendency to run late. It doesn’t help that former best friend Fenelda tries to sabotage Harley’s efforts whenever she can. When the Iron Forest, growthplace of the cogs the people of Inventia need for their inventions, becomes infested with a mysterious fungus, Harley sees it as her chance to save the day and prove herself worthy. 

If you are looking for a book to help kids transition from chapter books to middle grade, this is a fantastic choice. It is engaging, with characters kids can really root for, a fun setting with a robot dog, cool inventions, explosions and giant slugs, and a plot that both appeals to older kids and has the narrative simplicity to make this a manageable challenge. I’d highly recommend this for lower KS2 book corners, and it’s also a great choice for upper KS2 kids who find a full MG novel too intimidating and need to build their confidence, but don’t want to read anything dry or babyish.