Barnaby Grimes and the Return of the Emerald Skull by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

Barnaby Grimes is a messenger called a Tick-Tock Lad, as in "Tick-tock, time is money!" He delivers messages through a city that seems very much like late Victorian or early Edwardian London. But instead of delivering them through the crowded streets, Barnaby is a High-stacker. He delivers messages and packages in the fastest way possible- over the rooftops. The faster he delivers, the more money he gets.

Though he is an able-bodied and intelligent young man, Barnaby hasn't really attended school, even though he's able to read and write very well. That's because most schools in the city are more like Prisons than places to learn, although there are exceptions. And when Barnaby delivers a package to one school, Grassington Hall. There, he meets the kindly Headmaster, who has a fetish for collecting birds from all around the world. Barnaby's swift delivery of a new pair of spectacles delights the Headmaster, who keeps him in mind for further deliveries.

On his way out of the school, Barnaby becomes involved in a sports competition and wins the friendship and acclaim of the boys at the school. Soon his job there is a distant memory, but in the meantime, he befriends an oriental girl named Mei Ling, who teaches him the arts of martial defense and "not being there" to evade blows and grabs, all in exchange for a special lunch she saw him eating on the rooftops.

After meeting her, Barnaby meditates every morning before work and finds that his new skills keep him from even the typical bruises and injury that high-stackers usually experience, and lends him a new confidence in his steps on the rooftops. He also delivers a package for the headmaster, a special bird from South America known as the "Emerald Messenger of Darkness".

For a while, Barnaby simply goes about his days, but he soon becomes aware that something is very wrong at Grassley, something which seems to involve the bird in the package that Barnaby delivered to the school. This best of schools has become one of the worst, and the students seem hypnotized and almost feral. But Barnaby feels responsible for what has happened because he was the one to deliver the package. But can even he overcome the sinister power of the Head?

I can't even begin to express how much I love this series, and the titular character. Barnaby makes the point that you don't need a lot of book learning to be smart, but he does rely on his friends and the things they teach him to get out of the predicaments the plot puts him in- and he's always learning and applying what he learns to make his own life better. I also love the author's description of High-stacking, which runs along the lines of "tumbling and leaping from roof to roof with the grace of an arrogant tomcat".

Just like the Lemony Snicket books, these stories include words that readers will likely not have read before, but where as Snicket defined the terms he used, here, they are presented in a format in which the reader can work out for themselves what the words mean. The story is exciting, with thrills and chills aplenty (and I sense a close kinship with the William Golding book "Lord of the Flies" in the actions of the school students), but might be too much for younger kids or those overly sensitive to nightmares.

Sadly, there isn't as much character development in this one, but I still completely loved it. This book is strictly in the realm of fantasy despite its historical roots, and the two together completely thrilled me in a way I have rarely been thrilled before. I hope this series goes on for as close to forever as it is possible to go. I am so fascinated with it that I'd rather it not end. Highly recommended.