Amelia Wainwright and the Chimera Project (seeking representation)
About
Thirteen-year-old Amelia Wainwright’s world is shattered when her father, an undercover secret agent, vanishes without a trace. Refusing to accept his disappearance as final, she launches a desperate mission to uncover what really happened, accompanied by her loyal best friend, Sebastian, and her father’s colleague, Rex.
While searching through her father’s belongings, a strange encounter changes everything: a mysterious woman transforms into a mouse before Amelia’s eyes, dropping a peculiar watch in the process. Amelia retrieves it, only to discover that the watch holds an extraordinary power. It allows its wearer to transform into animals.
As she learns to wield this impossible new ability, Amelia finds herself drawn into the secretive world of the Chimera Project, the same operation her father was investigating when he vanished. When her mother is kidnapped from their home, the mission becomes personal. The watch, it turns out, is more than a weapon; it’s the key to everything.
Their search leads them through the shadowy underworld of Cairo, ancient tombs and museums, and the scorching Egyptian desert, pursued relentlessly by the enigmatic and dangerous Agents of Celine: Windsor, Sherwood, as well as the sinister Celine herself. With Rex captured and Sebastian accidentally transported to the North Pole, Amelia is left to navigate treacherous terrain alone, aided only by two new allies, Nadia and Omar. But betrayal lurks closer than she realises.
The final confrontation unfolds in Celine’s secret desert stronghold, where Amelia must face the monstrous Chimera, a mythical creature with the body of a lion, a goat’s head protruding from its back, and a serpent for a tail. With her parents’ lives hanging in the balance and the full force of the Chimera Project revealed, Amelia must use every skill she’s gained to defeat her enemies, expose the traitor in their midst, and protect the world from the terrifying power the watch contains.
Amelia Wainwright and the Chimera Project is the first book in a planned trilogy.
Currently Seeking Representation.
Praise for this book
A fast-moving, cross-genre tale of courage with imaginative tech.
An English teen uses dangerous new technology to save her abducted parents in this YA thriller.
Amelia Wainwright has become increasingly withdrawn since her father disappeared a year ago. The 13-year-old even earns herself a weeklong suspension from school. But a surprise awaits her in her father’s study, where she and bestie Sebastian discover a hidden room and learn her father’s a secret agent. He left behind a stack of files, which a suddenly appearing stranger demands Amelia hand over. By sheer chance, Amelia gets a hold of that person’s tech—a glowing watch that can transform its wearer into any animal. It’s soon clear that Celine, the criminal mastermind Amelia’s father had been chasing, is holding both her parents hostage in Cairo. With help from her father’s agency, the International Covert Intelligence Directorate, Amelia and Sebastian search for the Wainwrights. Meanwhile, that smartwatch, which can’t simply be removed, keeps Amelia under constant risk of permanently becoming whatever animal she’s transformed into. Golding’s young hero is likable from the beginning. Even when she’s getting into trouble, she’s never disrespectful. She and equally winsome Sebastian are bright and versatile, although they do rely heavily on “futuristic-looking gadgets.” Those gadgets, along with the morph-inducing watch, nearly puts the novel into SF-fantasy realm. This concise story also boasts thriller elements. Amelia and Sebastian attempt to evade Celine’s nefarious agents, with personable Cairo locals lending support. Entertainingly, Amelia becomes an assortment of real-life animals, including a cat and an elephant. The final act delivers a few twists, amping up excitement even further. As this novel launches a prospective series, readers can look forward to the leads returning for more escapades.
A fast-moving, cross-genre tale of courage with imaginative tech.