The Phoenix Pencil Company'Absorbing'GUARDIAN 'Magical'GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Suspenseful' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Wildly inventive' LIZ MOORE A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK In this dazzling debut novel, a young reclusive coder unearths the story of a lost Shanghai pencil company and a legacy of magic, espionage and family secrets that will alter the path of her life forever. Monica Tsai spends most days on her computer coding for a program that seeks to connect strangers online. A

Lara is forced to admit a secret that she has been keeping from her daughter her whole life

the Hong Kong protesters he comes to know see their movement snuffed out

It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole

and the Dark One has turned all his power against the prison that binds him

Max veers dangerously close to being implicated as he

has been credited with once saying that there are decades where nothing happens but weeks when decades happen

Is Britain justified in its island mentality

and explores the dangers of a world in which all routers lead to Beijing

and executive functions

adorns oligarchs and kings

Two extraordinary narratives are set in train - one historical

discovering some important lessons along the way: that pottery is the perfect antidote to internet overload (phones and clay don't mix)