When your school’s motto is “Life is dangerous,” you know that anything can happen—and everything does!

This raucous tale of education gone awry is “rollicking, ridiculous, and captivating,” according a Bulletin starred review. There’s no school that’s quite like Ribblestrop, complete with roofless dormitories, distracted teachers, and a perilous underground labyrinth. And then there are the students! You’ll meet Sanchez, a Colombian gangster’s son hiding from kidnappers; Millie, an outcast arsonist and self-confessed wild child; Caspar, the landlady’s spoiled grandson; the helpful but hapless Sam and his best friend Ruskin, plus a handful of orphans from overseas who are just happy to have beds—even if they are located in the roofless part of the building. With the “crazy-school appeal of Hogwarts and the grim humor of Lemony Snicket” (The Independent), Ribblestrop, which was awarded the Children’s Fiction Prize by The Guardian, is sure to delight the most mischievous among us.