Maximillian Fly is a roach of sorts, with human characteristics and quite tall at over six feet.  He’s actually much kinder than the humans.  Thoughtful, keeps to himself.  Until he witnesses two children, Kaitlin and Jonno, desperately running in the night.  He decides to open his door and hide them.  There is evil suppression in the city of Hope and the children have been targeted. Maximillian is drawn into their predicament at first rather reluctantly.  Kaitlin is the strong, determined type, not willing to sit by and have their lives destroyed.

As a huge fan of Angie Sage and all things Septimus Heap, I jumped into Maximillian Fly a tad reluctantly only because I wanted more of Septimus Heap.  But I was hooked on the first page, intrigued.  A giant roach/human?  The writing is what I have come to expect from the master: witty, illustrative, lyrical, and real.  How she makes an obviously unreal world seem real is her gift.  Maximillian occasionally interrupts his story to speak to the reader and it feels natural to do so.  Perfect for the avid-reading upper elementary child and for middle school. I would hope that the middle school crowd are not put off by the roach human cover that screams elementary school.  This is really a sophisticated book that older students would get more out of.  Highly recommend!

eGalley review                                              Publication date 6.11.19