Melanie Gate, a foundling with a peculiar talent for opening the unopenable, agrees to accompany a gearling automaton named Traveler on his quest to find a home, only to be pursued by the most dangerous wizard in the land and, along the way, discover hertrue powers. - (Baker & Taylor)

Gifted with the ability to open the unopenable with the touch of her hand, Melanie Gate is chosen by the Traveler to become the apprentice to his magical mistress and so begins an epic and life-changing adventure. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

"Will have readers tumbling through the pages . . . Deeply immersive, full of both heft and humor." —Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series
 
* "One of those special books that only comes around every so often . . . An absolute revelation." —SLJ (starred review)
 
For fans of Nevermoor and Howl's Moving Castle comes an epic fantasy about a girl with the ability to unlock anything—including the empire's darkest secrets.

Melanie Gate is a foundling with a peculiar talent for opening the unopenable—any lock releases at the touch of her hand. One night, her orphanage is visited by Traveler, a gearling automaton there on behalf of his magical mistress, who needs an apprentice pronto. When Melanie is selected because of her gift, her life changes in a flash, and in more ways than she knows—because Traveler is not at all what he seems. But then, neither is Melanie Gate.
 
So begins an epic adventure sparkling with magic, wit, secret identities, stinky cats, fierce orphan girls, impostor boys, and a foundling and gearling hotly pursued by the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the land.
 
Action-packed yet layered, The Lock-Eater is a mix of lush world-building, high stakes, humor, and emotional heft—a page-turner and so much more. 

"A new classic . . . Perfect for fans of Ursula LeGuin and Diana Wynne Jones." —Eliot Schrefer, author of The Lost Rainforest series
* "Startlingly deep [while] maintaining its swift pace." —BCCB (starred review)
"Will delight . . . An entertaining page-turner." —GeekMom
“Incredibly memorable . . Vibrant [and] skillfully wrought.” —Betsy Bird for a Fuse #8 Production/SLJ
"Inventive and lighthearted [yet still] plumbs areas of darkness and loss.” —The Horn Book
“Expansive adventure, intricate worldbuilding, and a memorable cast [will] immerse readers.” —PW
"A magical world unlike any other." —Cracking the Cover
- (Penguin Putnam)

Zack Loran Clark is a writer and editor of children's books, and the co-author of The Adventurers Guild trilogy. A lifelong fantasy nerd, avid Dungeons & Dragons player, and aspiring sorcerer, he lives with his husband and their dog in Brooklyn, New York. - (Penguin Putnam)

Horn Book Guide Reviews

When a gearling (a mechanical clockwork man) shows up at the orphanage in search of an apprentice for his witch mistress, Melanie Gate (an orphan with a talent for opening locked things) embarks on the adventure about which she's always dreamed. Once outside the city gates, however, the gearling, newly named Traveler, reveals that the witch is a fiction, that he himself is far more than the mindless automaton he'd initially seemed, and that he needs a human to front for him. Traveler can't remember his past, but he's able to do remarkable feats of magic, and he both teaches Melanie and sets her up to appear to be the magical prodigy Lady Porta the Periwinkle, a role Melanie is happy to play. When they run into a real aldermage, however, the man sees through Melanie's impersonation and blackmails her into using her talent to steal a hidden treasure. Strong themes of belonging and identity inform the narrative: Melanie is torn between her drive for excitement and her longing for the warm and cozy friendships she made at the orphanage; Traveler questions how real he is and fears being used as a weapon. Both characters' origins have roles to play in a conflict between two magical factions, and Melanie's fellow orphans swoop in for a rescue at just the right moment. Although lighthearted, this inventive fantasy nonetheless plumbs areas of darkness and loss, with those serving as a bracing counterbalance. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

When a gearling (a mechanical clockwork man) shows up at the orphanage in search of an apprentice for his witch mistress, Melanie Gate (an orphan with a talent for opening locked things) embarks on the adventure about which she's always dreamed. Once outside the city gates, however, the gearling, newly named Traveler, reveals that the witch is a fiction, that he himself is far more than the mindless automaton he'd initially seemed, and that he needs a human to front for him. Traveler can't remember his past, but he's able to do remarkable feats of magic, and he both teaches Melanie and sets her up to appear to be the magical prodigy Lady Porta the Periwinkle, a role Melanie is happy to play. When they run into a real aldermage, however, the man sees through Melanie's impersonation and blackmails her into using her talent to steal a hidden treasure. Strong themes of belonging and identity inform the narrative: Melanie is torn between her drive for excitement and her longing for the warm and cozy friendships she made at the orphanage; Traveler questions how "real" he is and fears being used as a weapon. Both characters' origins have roles to play in a conflict between two magical factions, and Melanie's fellow orphans swoop in for a rescue at just the right moment. Although lighthearted, this inventive fantasy nonetheless plumbs areas of darkness and loss, with those serving as a bracing counterbalance. Anita L. Burkam March/April 2022 p. Copyright 2022 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

An orphan is—quelle surprise—an extremely special magical girl with a mysterious past. Melanie thinks she's being escorted from the Merrytrails Orphanage for Girls by gearling Traveler, a clockwork magical construct, in order to become a witch's apprentice. But as he explains to her once they've left the city, that story was a bit of a fib. Traveler, who awoke in a destroyed laboratory with no memory of his own life, needs a human chaperone in order to remain under the radar, as a "thaumaturgically animated clockwork retainer" is not supposed to be a thinking person. Melanie, excited to disguise herself as the "stupendous magical prodigy Lady Porta the Periwinkle," agrees to the plan. It's a thrill to learn magic, to enchant her cloak into a donkey, and to get a gorgeous new wizard's outfit from a crushworthy girl tailor. But an imperial aldermage hijacks Melanie into his own nefarious journey. (On top of having clearly villainous ends, the aldermage continually harasses her for wearing a boy's coat instead of "gender-appropriate clothing," though many others praise Melanie's fashion.) Although the orphanage girls, including Melanie's best friend who has light brown skin, are racially diverse, Melanie and almost all nonorphan humans seem to be White. A charming entry in the magical foundling genre that satisfies without standing out. (Fantasy. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Featuring expansive adventure, intricate worldbuilding, and a memorable cast, Loran Clark's (the Adventurers Guild series) solo debut is a cozy fantasy set amid the beginnings of a wizard war. "With a gaze set forward rather than back," Melanie Gate is one of the foundlings at ethnically inclusive Merrytrails Orphanage for Girls, run by motherly Mrs. Harbargain. One stormy night, a "thaumaturgically animated clockwork retainer, colloquially called a gearling" stops by, asking to apprentice one of the foundlings for its witch mistress. Given Melanie's uncanny penchant for opening things—and the gearling's offer of much-needed coin—she's chosen for the situation. But once away from Mrs. Harbargain's watchful gaze, the gearling, known as Traveler, proves to be not a mindless machine but an inexplicably sentient being in need of a human chaperone to avoid drawing aldermage attention. Taking on the mantle of Lady Porta the Periwinkle, magical prodigy, Melanie acquires a dashing coat "clearly made as part of a boy's ensemble" that makes her feel, and look, the part. Centering lessons about pacifism and kindness to sentient beings, and featuring close friendships and a sweet queer crush, the book employs a flowing, vivid prose style to immerse readers. Ages 10–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Jan.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 5 Up—"The Adventurer's Guild" co-author has created a new fantastical world where The Empire reigns watchfully supreme over their nation's witches and wizards, and is in the midst of a magical battle with the outlying (older) elemental magic of the Ley Coven, who threaten it at its self-imposed borders. The tale opens in Merrytrails Orphanage, where readers meet an unbelievably noxious and temperamental cat named Abraxas, and a diverse band of foundlings under the supervision of a benevolent mistress, Mrs. Harbargain. One orphan, Melanie Gate, has the special power of unlocking or confounding any lock she encounters. One night a strangely sentient automaton, a "gearling" known simply as Traveler, visits the orphanage to recruit a foundling as a witch's apprentice, setting Melanie on her transformative adventure. Clark has woven a compelling story as intricate and sparkling as the magical spells he describes, and manages to combine high fantasy with a heart-wrenching passageway through adolescence, queer awakening, and existential mysteries with ease. The cast of characters is deeply knowable, and its worldbuilding aches for more adventures in this setting. Readers will cheer and weep with Melanie and Traveler as they discover who they are in the face of doubt, illusion, and betrayal. Clark has crafted one of those special books that only comes around every so often, a delicately balanced fantasy and coming-of-age novel that will resonate with adults and children alike. VERDICT A must-purchase for a middle school library, this philosophical fantasy is an absolute revelation for an adolescent child yearning for adventure and knowing oneself.—Rachel Joiner, Advent Episcopal Sch., Bessemer, AL