354 and the the nature of coincidence

I've just finished reading "She is Not Invisible" by Marcus Sedgwick.  I almost didn't read it because I'd previously tried to read "White Crow" by the same author and given up part way through - it was sooo boring.

"She is Not Invisible" is the complete opposite - a real page turner.  There was no way I was not going to finish this book, and quickly too.

It is the story of Laureth, her young brother Benjamin and a toy raven called Stan, who decide to fly to New York while their mother is away for the weekend.  Someone has found their father's notebook in New York, when he was supposed to be in Switzerland and he's not answering his phone.  Laureth thinks he must be in trouble and persuades her 7-year-old brother to travel with her on a hair-brained but spirited mission to rescue him.

They meet up with the mysterious Mr Walker who found the notebook, and follow a trail of clues (some true some false) to their father's whereabouts, encountering some unusual locals along the way, some more helpful than others.

What's this got to with 354 and the nature of coincidence?  Laureth's father was obsessed with both, and this provides another dimension to this story.

The characters, particularly the protagonist Laureth, are engaging and likeable.  The only thing I wasn't sure about was the ending, but I won't reveal it here.

I've given this story 4 stars.

Travelling on the Petworth Pullman

We spent a few nights at the Old Station B&B at Petworth in Sussex in one of the their restored Pullman carriages, Mimosa which was built in 1914.

Pictures convey the experience far more than words.