The Undrowned child is set in Venice in 1899. It is about Venice in alternate historical fantasy where mermaids run secret printing presses, ghosts good and bad patrol the streets, rats read, statues speak and librarians turn fluidly into cats. I think that the title suits the book because the main character, Teodora, is called the undrowned child in the prophecy. By calling the book this, the author links the book to the characters and makes the book sound interesting so people will want to read it. Michelle Lovric used unique types of language - especially for the mermaids. An example of this is one of the handbills which they create using their printing presses. "Beware Ca' Dario! Only evil flows out of that palace. Evil, And Sickness, And Death. Oh, ye could not be counting the number of lies they're telling ye. More than the hairs on the poor flayed skin of Marcantonio Bragadin. More than the hairs up the nose of your great left-legged baboon of a Mayor". This book is also a really good book because it tells you about the places in Venice as wells as parts of Venice's history. I like this book because the plot-line is engaging and the Characters are very interesting and unique. I think the setting is very detailed which is great because you can connect the book with the places, statues and buildings from real-life Venice. I would recommend this book for the age groups 8-16. This book is the first book in the series, its sequel is called The Mourning Emporium. I personally would rate this book 5 stars for its historical fantasy, it's gripping plot-line, its beautiful comedy and for its unique and amazing characters.