In London, Barnabas McDoon, a merchant, receives a package with a journal and a key. The note promises he will able to reclaim his past in order to move on to the future if he brings the key to Yount, a mysterious land which is not on Earth. The note also says the offer, which will not be repeated, is for a most important mission. Barnabas must decide whether reclaiming what he loved is worth the risks to his family, as he is raising his niece and nephew, and to his business.

The mysterious journal shifts when people aren’t looking, telling the stories of others who traveled to Yount. Sally, McDoon’s niece, reads the journal and becomes convinced she, her uncle, brother, and Barnabas’ business partner all must journey to Yount. Her dreams and the song she hears make her think she is slightly crazy, but she also begins to realize what she sees is important and, despite whatever pain it might cause them, they have to go and try to free Yount.

Another thread in the book revolves around Maggie, whose mother, an escaped American slave, took them to London. She, like Sally, has some sort of connection to Yount. Even though Maggie has never met Sally she sees the other girl in her dreams and is jealous of all the privilege Sally enjoys. Maggie is trying to keep herself and her mother alive, while desiring to further her own education and make a better life.

While I enjoyed the story and the characters, I felt that some sections dragged due to long tracts of description. That said, this book promises to be the start of a vibrant fantasy series.

This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy alternate history or stories where characters are transported to another world will enjoy this. People who enjoy old British writers like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens will be amused by the brief references to the characters in their novels living in the world of The Choir Boats.