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Wildworld Series – Book I
L J Smith
Simon and
Schuster
October 2010 / ISBN 0857070509
Tweenage (8-12)/ Fantasy / Contemporary / California
Amazon US
|| UK
Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
In a spooky
old house where the four Hodges-Bradley children have been told
never to set foot there are many mirrors. But these are no ordinary
looking glasses, but portals between this world and another more
magical realm. The children realize that there is something special
about the house when a vixen speaks to them, and they are plunged
into an adventure to save the sorceress Morgana from the clutches
of evil sorcerer Cadal Forge.
This author is better known for her teenage paranormal romances,
but before she wrote those she wrote this, her first book. Aimed
at younger readers, this is somewhat different to her later style
and is sure to go down well with anybody who enjoys stories about
children exploring magical places. This is an update for today’s
young reader on the Enid Blytonesque tale of a group of youngsters
finding the way to a Fairyland filled with creatures benign and
malign while exploring the group’s own dynamics. There’s
sensible older sister Alys, dreamy artistic Charlie, solid and determined
little Claudia and enigmatic, prickly genius Janie who come up against
some rather nastier characters than Ms Blyton would have thought
suitable. As an adult who has read a lot of this type of thing in
my time I can say that I’ve read both better and worse, but
for a child of this age this seems about right in terms of depth
of character, complexity of plot and scariness. If you enjoy this
one there is a sequel coming out soon. Enid Blyton for the Harry
Potter era.
Reviewers
Note: US edition is different || Holiday: Halloween
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