Thank You very much to the publisher – Pushkin Children’s Books for the review copy.
ISBN13: 978-1782693987
Genre: YA
Release date: 10 10 2024
Price*: Kindle £8.89 (GBP)/ Hardback £12.97 (GBP)
Pages: ~ 320
My rating: I liked it.
You can get this book here:
Amazon UK
Bookshop.org
What I learned from this book: be careful what you wish for.
Description of the book: It’s supposed to be a treat for Kit, a winter holiday by the coast with her sister Libby and their mum. But when Libby vanishes into thin air, and no one else remembers her, Kit is faced with a new reality – one in which her sister never existed.
Then she meets Story, a local boy who remembers Libby perfectly. Together they embark on a journey beyond their wildest imagination into a world steeped in ancient folklore. Can Kit and Story uncover the secret of the Twelve and rescue Libby before Time runs out?
How this book made me feel: I was very intrigued by the cover of this novel. The stone circles always mesmerized me, and I am glad I picked this book.
The protagonist in this book is Kit and the book is told from her perspective. Kit, her sister, and mum visited a caravan park by the beach for Christmas. I never stayed by the sea in winter, but it sounds cold and windy 😀 Due to certain events, Libby, Kit’s sister disappears from this world and everyone talks like she never existed, but Kit knows it is not true, so she goes on a quest to find her sister. I liked Kit, she is sweet, brave and determined. I enjoyed Kit’s and Story’s friendship and the honesty that they both shared. I don’t think the characters opened up enough in this book, I wanted more…
The narrative of this book is shrouded in history, magic and past. I really enjoyed their journey through time, the places they visited and the events that happened to them. I have missed more danger and adventure but liked this story’s folk aspect. The topics discussed in this book were friendships, abandonment, survival, the harm to the world done by humans, kindness, and more.
I loved the setting of this book, I am very keen to spend a weekend in Dover or anywhere by the cliffs, while the ocean is raging a few feet away. The writing style is very lyrical and beautiful. The chapters are not long and it is an easy and enjoyable read. I think the author concluded this story very well and left me very satisfied with the outcome.
So, to conclude, this young adult novel is peaceful, lyrical but entertaining at the same time. The characters are compelling and the narrative had me hooked, I wanted to find out what would happen next. Do give this novel a go and I hope you will like it as much as I did.
Thank you for your time ❤
About the author: Liz Hyder has been making up stories for as long she can remember. Bearmouth, her debut novel for young adults, won the Branford Boase Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Award for Older Readers. It was also shortlisted for the UKLA Awards and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Originally from London, she now lives in South Shropshire in a small medieval market town surrounded by hills, books and plants.
Website: https://www.lizhyder.co.uk/ / X: @LondonBessie / Instagram: @londonbessie
*-The price was taken from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com on the current date. The price might change at the time of your purchase. The links used in this post for book purchases are affiliates.
