The Hopeful Queen of the Clockwork Court (Fairy Tale Physics)

Elise plans everything. Edmond plans nothing. They have two weeks to save his life.

Elise is the princess of a city that runs on clockwork, and she has never in her life left the castle. She has, however, read every book in it. Twice.

Edmond is a prince from the coast who has been shipwrecked, chased by pirates, had his bootlaces tied to an enormous catfish, and been trapped in underwater caves more times than he can count. He has quest protocols.

When a wizard curses Edmond to sleep one hour longer every night — until every hour is sleep, forever — the two of them set off across the sea inside a giant pelican to find help from the only people who might know how to undo it: two wizards named Archimedes and Bernoulli.

Nothing that follows is anything Elise planned for.

About the science. Every problem these two solve, they solve with real physics — pendulums, thermal expansion, water displacement, air pressure, siphons, flow rate, and Bernoulli's principle. Optional Notes from the Librarian explain each one, with pronunciation guides and try-it-yourself experiments using a straw, a glass of water, and a coin. Skip them entirely and the story still works. For ages 9–12.

For readers of Fluid Mechanics: A Fairy Tale . This is that story, rebuilt. It's five times the length, with new worldbuilding, new characters, new physics, and a new ending.

Sarah Allen holds a degree in physics and a master's in cognition and learning, and taught math and physics for twenty years before writing full time.