SOLVED. Children’s Fantasy book that took place during the bubonic plage about a girl trying to solve a mystery and save her bff (with the plague) with magical realism elements. [s]

[mae]

Hi! I’ve been searching for this book for a while and thought I’d give this a try. I read it anywhere from 2014-2017, and I don’t think it was older than 2000, as I tended to read more modern books as a kid. I remember the cover being blue with an illustration of the main character (a girl with long brown hair) standing maybe on a pier? I believe the spine was blue, and that the story took place in Italy - definitely in Europe. The plot vaguely involved a mystery that made the main character go under water to some pipes to search for something - I remember there being mermaids but that seems like a very random addition to the story, so maybe my kid mind made it up (but I suspect it didn’t because they were a large part of the story). Halfway through, her best friend - he was a boy and maybe royalty or of a higher class than her, something like that - got the black plague. I don’t remember the ending or what happened to her friend, but Google has not been helpful in finding this book :/.

Hopefully someone can help! Thank you!

[Orsolya Könyvtáros (formerly Memp)]

The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric? There are a few different editions, so I'm not sure about the cover art.

pg. 196:

Renzo lifted his collar and showed Teo such a hideous sight that she had to put one hand over her mouth so as to hold in the scream. On his neck was a throbbing lump the size of a small apple. It was black.[...]

Renzo pointed to the books spread out on his bed. Each of them was open at a page about the epidemics of the Black Plague in Venice.[...]

"We have to get help! We'll get a doctor! No, we'll go to the mermaids!["]

[mae]

Memp wrote: "The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric? There are a few different editions, so I'm not sure about the cover art.

pg. 196:

Renzo lifted his collar and showed Teo such..."

That was it! I looked it up in the library and the cover art matched what I remembered. Thank you!!

[Orsolya Könyvtáros (formerly Memp)]

You're welcome! It looks intriguing and I might give it a read.

[Kris]

Glad you found your book, mae.

The Undrowned Child (book 1) of The Undrowned Child series by Michelle Lovric - Memp's find.