The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, and not only because the author has such an interesting name. It also has an interesting title. It is true. The premise of the book is that underneath platform 13 at King’s Cross station in London there is a gump. A gump, you say? What the heck is that? Well, a gump is a passage way to Avalon where is there is an Island with a king and queen and all sorts of mythical characters. Well, one day the son of the king and queen is kidnapped by a greedy and awful person named Mrs. Trottle. Since the gump is only open every 9 years for only 9 days, the king and queen have to wait 9 years to get their son back. Most of the action of the book takes places over that 9 day segment when the rescue team that is sent in tries to get the prince back. Despite the passing similarity to the Harry Potter books with the platform 9 3/4 bit, and the fact that they are both fantasy, The Secret of Platform 13 is quite different in the story. It is, of course, very well written (do I ever seem to read anything that isn’t?) and another one I didn’t want to put down.