INTERESTS: magic, family, friendships, different worlds, adventure

THEMES: being different, bullying, friendship, family, right & wrong

IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU’LL LOVE:
Pages & Co by Anna James
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
Journey by Aaron Becker
How To Live Forever by Colin Thompson

MY THOUGHTS: immersive, magical, unputdownable

Clementine is different, or so her fellow pupils tell her. When pushed to her limit, her magic bursts out of her and marks the point of no return. She discovers a house which was previously hidden – hidden by Ganymede, one of three sisters. Gan saw it as her role to contain all of the magic in the world in order to maintain order and safety. She puts each magician inside a snowglobe, each one unique. The magicians inside create their own worlds but, really, these are their prisons. Io, another of the sisters, rules over these worlds from within. However, the story centres around Clem’s mission to first rescue Dylan, a boy in her class, and then find her mother, Calisto – is she in the house? How will Clem find her? Is it possible she can use her magic to help?

I loved this story. The idea of snowglobe hopping is wondrous. The conflict between the sisters was interesting, although I felt like this could have been developed a little more when they were all together. Amy Wilson managed to show the true, gritty, often fickle nature of teen ‘friendships’, something many children will be able to relate to. Popularity and keeping up appearances – it breaks your heart for Clem.

Honourable mention to Helios the trusty dog, and to the stunning descriptions of the worlds and magic. It’s truly beautiful and Amy’s words effortlessly paint pictures of the various settings.

This is a great book for Y5 or 6 children interested in magic and adventure. I’m sure I will take it back off the shelf to re-read sometime soon.