Twelve-year-old Amelia Fox has always been the kind of person who asks one question too many, so when she finds a mysterious brass compass hidden among her late grandfather's belongings, she can't simply leave it alone, no matter what his handwritten warning says. The compass doesn't point north. It points toward secrets.
Together with her best friend Theo Parker, clever, analytical, and quietly braver than he thinks, Amelia discovers that the instrument once belonged to a legendary explorer whose disappearance has never been fully explained. When the needle swings east with sudden, unshakeable certainty, it leads them straight into an ancient mystery buried beneath a mountain in Kyoto, Japan: The Dragon's Secret, a four-hundred-year-old truth deliberately hidden by people who chose protection over power.
But Amelia and Theo are not the only ones searching. A shadowy figure known only as the Collector has spent decades chasing the same trail, always one step behind, willing to take by force what the compass has never once been willing to give him freely.
As Amelia and Theo cross a bamboo grove pursued by strangers, decode an ancient riddle carved in stone, and finally stand before the mountain's oldest guardian, they begin to understand that the compass was never simply a tool for finding lost things. It is a test, of honesty, of courage, and of what a person chooses to do with power once they finally have it.
The Compass of Lost Things is a fast-paced, emotionally rich adventure for readers aged 10-14, blending real-world history and mythology with a genuine, deeply loyal friendship at its heart. It is the first book in the Global Quest series, which follows Amelia and Theo across the world, from Japan to Egypt, Peru, Greece, and beyond, as they uncover the truth behind humanity's oldest protected secrets, and confront the people who would do anything to steal them.
For young readers who love mystery, courage, and stories where curiosity is a superpower.
Rowan Atlas is a primary school teacher with over 20 years of experience educating students across Australia and internationally. An avid traveler with a deep appreciation for diverse cultures and food, Rowan channeled his adventures into The Flavour Hunters Series. The books follow Pippa Henley and Pieter Dodorlein, two spirited adventures, as they explore the world while on tour with Pieters' orchestral parent. Each book drops them into a new city where they eat their way through real, existing restaurants and street-food stalls, chase down a piece of local history or legend tied to a dish, and stumble into a light mystery or challenge along the way Rowan hopes the series gives young readers a love of adventure, curiosity, and trying something new.
