{"product_id":"9780008724795_the-spick-and-the-span","title":"The Spick and the Span","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eImaginative, magical, wildly funny, and with a truly unique world, The Spick and the Span is an extraordinary, exciting fantasy middle grade adventure – perfect for fans of Jessica Townsend's \u003cem\u003eNevermoor\u003c\/em\u003e, Jonathan Stroud's \u003cem\u003eLockwood and Co\u003c\/em\u003e, Diana Wynne Jones' \u003cem\u003eHowl's Moving Castle\u003c\/em\u003e, and Terry Pratchett's \u003cem\u003eDiscworld\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThanks to many generations of careless magicians, the city of Helm is overflowing with magic, which has made it a very dangerous place to live. Leave anything alone for too long and it will transform into something else: your house will turn to gingerbread, your teapot will start pouring pond water or – if you're really unlucky – your floor will turn to lava.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe magicians liked to pretend it’s them who keep the worst magical hiccups in check, but the real heroes of the whole sorry situation are of a wholly different occupation: equally well known but decidedly less respected.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe heroes of the city of Helm are the cleaners.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWard, an ambitious twelve-year-old cleaner, wants nothing more than to belong to the League of Cleaners, who will grant him the prestige and popularity he's been looking for all his life – if only he can pass three near-impossible tests. Struggling toward this goal with a team he doesn't trust, Ward's world is upended when his friend disappears and mysterious magic-eating monsters appear all over the city and start tearing holes in the fabric of reality. Suddenly his ambitions are the least of his problems…\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHugely funny and exciting, and with an incredibly imaginative, original story, \u003cem\u003eThe Spick and the Span \u003c\/em\u003eis the unmissable fantasy middle grade debut of 2025 – you'll never look at magic the same way again…\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pil Van Martin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47285719793813,"sku":"9780008724795","price":12.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008724795.jpg?v=1776992142","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008724795_the-spick-and-the-span","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}