“I loved it SO MUCH. Not only great characters, high drama and so page-turny, but also the world it evokes so vividly, not sugar-coating the grimness, but humanising it.”

Sarah Hagger-Holt, author of The Fights That Make Us

“I read this months ago and I *still* find myself thinking about it. Queer, working-class, northern historical fiction for young adults. Chef’s kiss – no notes.”

Fran Moldaschl, author of When The Giants Passed Through

Twelve-year-old mill girl NELLIE DOYLE gets up early for work on what seems like just another day in Little Ireland, a notorious Manchester slum. But then her father loses his job, putting Nellie and her family at risk of eviction and starvation.

Hungry and afraid, Nellie walks past a new bakery stocked with luxury goods and bonds with CHLOE VALENTINE, a girl who lives in Manchester’s workhouse. In another chance encounter, Nellie meets a circus owner and believes he has granted her seven wishes. 

Set against the backdrop of 1840s Manchester, where cotton is king, calls for abolition fill the air, and the city comes alive with the sounds of the circus, Nellie, Chloe and Nellie’s brother Danny make a series of wishes. They wish that a local bully will never fight again, a beloved horse will be set free, a respected neighbour will be saved from a slum basement, Nellie’s father will find a new job, and that Chloe will find her family.

But magic doesn’t always go according to plan, and meanwhile, Nellie starts developing feelings for Chloe. Can she find a way to make her own magic?