I thoroughly enjoyed this book about magic, friendship, families and bravery.
The story is set in a world where children who show magical powers are taken from their parents by the sinister Wishmaker Institute to be tamed and trained ready for Matching. Being sold and Matched, aged twelve, to a rich child in our world, the Wishmaker child is then the instrument of that master; a means for them to get all they wish for. Our main character, nine-year-old Leonie, is fighting against this fate, determined to escape. After hold-your-breath failures, she does escape with the help of bodyguard Jackson, and they set up a happy home in a remote place. For three years Leonie has a happy life establishing strong best frienship with Cress, a bright girl with hearing loss. But that idyl doesn't last as Leonie's twelfth birthday looms ... And that's when the real drama and magic and desperation and determination kick in.
A truly exciting book that pitches Leonie's freedom against the life of protector Jackson and her precious friendship with Cress. A cast that includes wicked baddies and others wanting to do the right thing but are trapped by magical powers, as well as rebellious Leonie and clever Cress, makes this a story the reader absolutely cares about. It moves fast, sweeping us onwards to a very satisfying end. I would have adored it as a junior school age child. More stories are to follow, and I'm very glad of that.
NB This book isn't published until June 4th. I had a preview copy from the Federation of Children's Book Groups conference. If you fancy getting your hands on preview copies of books, as well as attending interesting and important panels and presentations about children's books by authors, illustrators, publishers, librarians, educator and more, then here's the FCBG website where information about next year's conference will appear in due course - https://fcbg.org.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment