A review by starryeved
Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

4.0

Play, she told herself. Remember how it sounds when you dream.

A whimsical, magical tale, even without true magic. Rooftoppers is lyrical, poetic, beautiful in its own fairy tale-like right -- like something out of Neil Gaiman's or Katherine Arden's writing -- and not a word is wasted.

Rooftoppers is the story of young Sophie, infant survivor of a shipwreck found in a cello case, raised in England under the tutelage of the scholarly Charles Maxim. Upon governmental ruling that the two should be separated, they escape to France, where they begin to try and look for Sophie's parentage through sparse clues -- and it is there by the Seine where she meets Matteo, a Rooftopper. And the rest is pure magic.

This is a timeless tale, wonderfully charming and classic in its depiction of lovable characters (Charles! What a lovely man!) and a simple tale woven into the fabrics of separate worlds across cities. No regrets reading this at all.