The Girl Who Kept the Castle

Nevermoor meets Howl's Moving Castle in this engaging fantasy--the first in a duology--from acclaimed author Ryan Graudin. Perfect for fans of wizards, dragons, magical castles, spectacular spells, and a spunky cat who may not be what he seems.

Faye's problems really began when she had to tell the ancient Wizard West's ghost that he was dead. The twelve-year-old groundskeeper's daughter has always lived at the magical mansion Celurdur, but without a successor to tend to the house's mystical foundations, it will fall apart at the next new moon.

Wizard West decides to host a competition to choose his worthy replacement. Soon, Faye is fighting to keep things running smoothly behind the scenes, while also handling rude potential apprentices. But when it's revealed that a servant of the Shadow Queen has infiltrated the contest to destroy Celurdur and remove the powerful spell that imprisons their mistress, Faye learns that her battle is much bigger than she could have ever anticipated.