#MG Review: Quill and the Last Generation by C.M. Lewis

Illustration by Maria Vidal, Publication date 29 January 2026, Macmillan Children’s,
ISBN: 978-1035060610

Quill and the Last Generation is a beautifully crafted, middle-grade, fantasy adventure, based on the Celtic myth of Arawn and Hafgan, the two giants who battle each year to change the seasons. Author, CM Lewis, weaves a tale which totally enraptured me. The characters, setting and pacing capture the reader’s full attention, with moments of high octane drama sprinkled through a thoughtful, other-wordly adventure. There are sufficient dragons, shape-shifters, warriors, and sword skills to satisfy those children who love some battlefield action in their fantasy adventures. However, what really set this story apart, for me, were the quiet, reflective passages where you see the growth of each of the young characters, which provided authentic personalities and balanced out the action.

The main protagonist, Quill, is a 12-year-old boy, who lives with his father and mother, but has always felt like an outsider in his small harbour town. He has one close friend, Jona, but is teased by the other children because his father is so overprotective of him. Quill and Jona, along with their school peers, are the last generation of children to have been born and they have never known summer as the world went cold the year they were born. Quill seems to have a strange power over birds, which are drawn to him wherever he goes. When a very persistent crow, suddenly turns into a warrior-like girl named Deryn, Quill learns something of his true destiny and sets sail (a particularly special sail, crafted by his father) for the underworld.

Quill has many missions ahead of him, not the least of which is to rescue the Light of the World before it is extinguished. He has allies in the form of his shape-shifting friends, a small band of loyal soldiers and a magical water-horse, but he has many skills to master and time is running out. When the going gets tough, Macsen, his mentor, shows him the courage that is required to continue fighting for what feels right in his heart, even when the battle already feels lost. When the appointed full-moon arrives, Quill must face Arawn in the Valley of Fates, to try to restore warmth and light to both the underworld and the overworld. Will his love for his new-found friends, Finn, Deryn, Eos and Erin, as well as those he has left behind in the overworld, be sufficient motivation for this peace-loving boy to fight his opponent? Can Quill find a secret strength to add to the sword and sail with which he is armed?

This is a truly majestic middle-grade novel and I will predict now that it will appear on literary prize shortlists for 2026 publications. CM Lewis is an outstanding writer and presents a perfect combination of action and emotion in a novel of approximately 250 pages. I read the book as an advanced electronic copy, which contained some unfinished illustrations (by Maria Vidal) in an anime style, and also a gorgeous map at the start. I highly recommend Quill and the Last Generation to school librarians at both primary and secondary schools, as well as parents/carers for children aged 9 years and above.

Disclaimer: I am grateful to Macmillan Children’s Books and NetGalley for granting me access to the e-ARC in advance of publication on 29 January 2025. It was my decision to write a review and all opinions are my own.

#TheWriteReads Blog Tour: Lianna and the Hombit by Valinora Troy

Cover art by Laura Tolton, published by The Silver Key, 29 January 2026, ISBN: 978-1918324013

Lianna and the Hombit is a delightful fantasy novel for middle grade readers. It gave me vibes of some of the classic stories that I enjoyed as a child; The Little Princess and The Secret Garden in particular. Lianna is a 13-year-old orphan, who has been sent to live with her uncle, Judge Sambru in the bleak, cold, harbour town of Lowdar, a long sea voyage away from her former home in the balmy land of Robunda. Her first experience of her new environment is to find herself robbed of her dear Papa’s pocket watch, her most precious possession since his sudden death.

It is clear upon her arrival at the judge’s grand house that her appearance is unexpected and unwelcome. She is accommodated in a small, unheated, attic room, her only consolation being a small glass-like bird which emerges from her empty fireplace. Not only can the creature talk, she soon learns that it is a Hombit, sent to use its magical powers on a mission so secret that it does not yet know what it has been tasked to do. The developing friendship and deep bond of trust and mutual reliance between Lianna and the Hombit sits at the heart of this novel and provides the spark to drive Lianna through her trials.

She has many mysteries to unravel and faces them with courage and determination, whether she’s investigating the contents of her uncle’s library for clues to the family’s history, or diving into a ferocious sea to rescue a woman in distress. Lianna is desperate to unravel the secrets of her late father’s flight from Lowdar; the intriguing reports of jewel thefts from clients of the Sambru family’s business and the disappearance of her uncle’s fiancee, all of which appear to be linked in some way. Most pressingly, has her arrival in her father’s home town somehow caused the living rocks to awaken, and can she save herself and the town from a terrible fate?

I found this story to be thoroughly engaging, building in tension to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion. I think that middle grade readers will empathise with Lianna and be enchanted by the Hombit, as they accompany them through their many challenges. The author brilliantly builds the forbidding atmosphere of the town, from the earliest pages I felt a real sense of menace from the harbour town, its inhabitants, and its surrounding seascape. I highly recommend it to primary school librarians and parents/caregivers for children aged 9 years and above who love to immerse themselves in mystery adventures with a spark of magic.

About the Author:
Valinora Troy is a children’s fantasy and horror writer from Ireland. She has a MA in Creative Writing, specialising in writing for children and young adults. She has acted as a panellist for the CYBILS awards in the middle grade speculative fiction category and served
as a Reading Ambassador for Louth Libraries. Her short stories for adults have appeared in numerous publications. She is the author of The Lucky Diamond trilogy, a middle grade children’s fantasy adventure series. In 2023 she was short-listed for the Staróg Prize. When not writing, she loves visiting schools and libraries to talk to children about books and writing.

You can find out more about Valinora’s books, as well as resources for schools, and sign up
to her newsletter on her website: Valinora Troy – Children’s Fantasy Writer

Disclaimer: I am very grateful to Valinora Troy for sending me a copy of Lianna and the Hombit in paperback format in exchange for my honest opinion, and to #TheWriteReads for organising the blog tour and providing images. Do check out the other blogposts on the promotional tour.

#MG Sci-Fi Review: The Experiment by Rebecca Stead

Cover image by Devin Elle Kurtz, published by Andersen Press 01 January 2026, ISBN: 978-1839137815

The Experiment is a page-turner of a sci-fi novel written for a middle grade readership but with themes which will interest older teen readers and adults too.

The main protagonist is a sixth-grade boy named Nathan, who lives with his parents in New York, where the three of them hide a very big secret; they are aliens, part of a network of families who have been sent to assimilate with humans as part of an experiment run by their ‘Kast’ leader, Hester. On the surface, Nathan appears to be a typical 12-year-old, he and his best friend Victor share a love of comic books and movie nights on the sofa with Victor’s extended family. However, at home, Nathan’s food intake is measured to the gram by his mother, she is constantly uploading his metabolic data for Hester’s attention, and she totally freaks out when he runs out of the special pink toothpaste with which he has to clean his teeth five times per day! The twelve alien families scattered across the United States have monthly online meetings to check on each other’s progress, and when Izzy (with whom Nathan has formed a strong bond) as well as several others from the cohort disappear, coinciding with Nathan growing a stripy tail, it looks as if their time on planet earth might be drawing to an end. Nathan and his parents are summoned back to the spacecraft known as ‘the Wagon’ where they witness the disturbing treatment of families who have ‘failed’ the experiment. With the help of his sentient tail, which Nathan has named Tuck, he begins to uncover a huge web of deceit which leads to deep questions about all of his family’s deeply held beliefs.

The clever structure of this book, with six parts counting down to the lift off of the Wagon, and very short chapters, makes it a compelling read. The book is only 270 pages in length, so perfectly manageable as an independent read for children aged 9 years and above. In addition to the gripping and increasingly tense unravelling of the mystery of Hester, the Wagon and the Kast, there is also a touching story at its heart of the very genuine friendship between Nathan and Victor, and what it means to be human. I liked the insights into the nature of scientific experimentation, and the concept of the researcher becoming so obsessed with their work that acceptable standards and ethics were ignored. I think that this could be used as the basis for interesting discussions in an upper primary or lower secondary school classroom setting. I highly recommend The Experiment as an excellent addition to primary and secondary school library collections, and as a gift for young fans of the sci-fi genre.

Disclaimer: I am most grateful to publicist Jade at Andersen Press for sending me a copy of The Experiment. It was my decision to write a review and all opinions are my own.

#MG Review: Escape from the Child Snatchers by Sufiya Ahmed

Cover illustration by Elisa Paganelli, published by Andersen Press, 29 January 2026, ISBN: 978-1839136511

Escape from the Child Snatchers is a fast-paced, historical adventure which takes young readers on a journey from Bombay to London with the protagonists Humza and his best friend Ranj. Author, Sufiya Ahmed, is adept at weaving historical facts into a thoroughly engrossing adventure which entertains the intended young readership, whilst enlightening them about historical injustices.

The story takes place in 1865 and begins in Bombay which is under British control. Humza’s older brother, Dani, has been missing since he began working as a lascar on a trade ship travelling to England several years earlier. Humza is determined to make the voyage himself, search for his brother and bring him home. His friend Ranj is eager to join him, as he sees London as the place to make his fortune. The two boys stowaway on a cargo ship and after a long and perilous voyage, they arrive at the East India Docks in London, where they soon learn that danger awaits. They almost instantly fall into the clutches of a notorious child snatcher, with only the quick thinking of a local innkeeper’s daughter, Daisy, saving them from harm. However, the criminal gang do not give up on their prey, and as Humza and Ranj take to the London streets to seek information about Dani, they are pursued by the henchmen of Basil Brookes.

A heart-pounding sequence of events sees the boys caught up in Basil Brookes’ cruel money making scheme where he exhibits Indian children for the entertainment of wealthy patrons in his London home. Shockingly, the author’s note at the end of the story makes clear that there are documented cases of this taking place in the eighteenth century. Being a middle grade adventure, there is a satisfying conclusion which will appeal to the natural sense of justice of primary school children. The story is told in less than 200 pages, with short chapters and a pacy narrative, making it perfect as an independent read for children aged 8 to 12 years. I would highly recommend it for school library and classroom collections.

Disclaimer: I am very grateful to Jade at Andersen Press for sending me a copy of Escape from the Child Snatchers ahead of publication on 29 January 2026. It was my decision to write a review and all opinions are my own.

25 Children’s Books Reading Highlights for 2025

Image generated by Goodreads, December 2025

It’s time to take stock of my reading year and having just received my summary from Goodreads, I have apparently read or listened to 124 books this year. I have been very fortunate to be the recipient of many fantastic books from publicists during 2025. I am always sorry that I do not manage to read and review everything that I am sent (or indeed that I buy for myself), but working full-time, family and other commitments do limit my reading and reviewing time. There is a huge TBR stack awaiting my retirement! I have continued to focus my blog on children’s book reviews, although I do also read adult books as a member of two book clubs, one of which I run at my place of work.

I have listened to 43 books for free on the BorrowBox app, courtesy of my wonderful public library service, and in honour of her 250th anniversary have revisited Jane Austen’s novels this year.

It is always so difficult to narrow down a list of favourite books, but these are the 25 books that have stood out in my mind this year. Middle Grade Fiction is still my most-read category, hence the large number of books under this heading:

Picture Books

Our Love by Fatima Ordinola, published by Post Wave

Pencil’s Best Story Ever by Carly Gledhill, published by Post Wave

Early Readers/Illustrated Fiction

Super Questers Mission: River Crest Rescue by Paul Ian Cross, illustrated by Katie Kear and Cherie Zamazing, published by QuestFriendz

Middle Grade Fiction

The Feathered Book by Charlie Nutbrown, published by Everything With Words

The Poisoned King (Impossible Creatures Book 2) by Katherine Rundell, published by Bloomsbury

Gloam by Jack Mackay, published by Rock the Boat

Runaways by EL Norry, published by Bloomsbury

The Changeling Child by HS Norup, published by Pushkin Press

Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past by Maisie Chan, published by Piccadilly Press

Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed by Eve Wersocki-Morris, published by Little Tiger Press

I Am Raven by Alastair Chisholm, published by Nosy Crow

The Blockbusters by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, illustrated by Steven Lenton, published by Macmillan

Dracula and Daughters by Emma Carroll, published by Faber Children’s Books

Mallory Vayle and the Maggoty Skull in the Beast from Beneath by Martin Howard, illustrated by Pete Williamson, published by Nosy Crow

Murder at Christmas by Fleur Hitchcock, published by Nosy Crow

YA Fiction

Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel, published by Guppy Books

A Beautiful Terrible Thing by Miranda Moore, published by David Fickling Books

My Name is Jodie Jones by Emma Shevah, published by David Fickling Books

Solo by Gráinne O’Brien, published by Little Island Books

TraumaLand by Josh Silver, published by Rock the Boat

Graphic Novels

Everything Amplified by Sarah Lippett and Ziggy Hanaor, published by Cicada Books

Non-Fiction

All Brains Are Wonderful by Scott Evans, illustrated by The Boy Fitz Hammond, published by B Small Publishing

Anthology

Heroines of the Ancient World by Honor Cargill-Martin, illustrated by Margaux Carpentier, published by Walker Books

Advance Reads of 2026 publications

A Girl’s Guide to Spying by Holly Webb, published by Rock the Boat

A Million Tiny Missiles All At Once by Lucas Maxwell, published by Chicken House

Thank you to everyone who follows and supports my blog. I love the bookish interactions with fellow bookworms on WordPress and social media, and have greatly enjoyed getting to know some of you in real life this year. Wishing everyone a very happy New Year, filled with health, happiness and great books!

#MG Christmas Anthology: The Very Merry Murder Club edited by Serena Patel & Robin Stevens

Cover image by Harry Woodgate, published by Farshore, 2021,
ISBN: 978-0755503681

The school Christmas holidays are a marvellous opportunity to curl up with a good book, and what better for fans of detective mysteries than an anthology of short stories from some of the finest contemporary authors of children’s fiction? Today I am giving a shoutout to a book which was published a few years ago now, but retains its ability to entertain and test the problem solving skills of middle grade readers.

The Very Merry Murder Club contains thirteen tales of mystery and/or murder, all set during the festive season. Of course, being a collection of short stories, many children will be inclined to seek out their favourite author(s) first and not necessarily read the stories in order. However, for those who do like to start at the very beginning, the first story, Shoe-Dunnit by Elle McNicoll, sets a perfectly snowy scene at a Scottish hotel, where the daughter of the hotel owners has to use her acute observation skills to solve the murder of a famous guest.

Other stories set in the snowy UK are It’s Snow Crime by Roopa Farooki, featuring her beloved mini-medic, twin investigators, Ali and Tulip; Scrabble and Murder by Nizrana Farook featuring a family stuck in a blizzard on the journey to visit their Grandmother for Christmas; Ice and Fire by Joanna Williams – an atmospheric historical fiction set during the London Frost Fair of December 1776. Silent Night by Serena Patel is a brilliant, wintery, child-oriented version of Rear Window. I think this is my favourite of all the stories. Arjun is stuck at home recovering from a tonsillectomy and spends his time observing the neighbours to deflect from the boredom. When he becomes convinced that he has witnessed a neighbour disposing of a dead body, he is determined to solve the mystery and takes dramatic action. No Piste for the Wicked by E.L. Norry takes the snowy action to a school ski trip in the Italian mountains, where one teacher begins behaving suspiciously and is found dead on the ski slope the following morning. Only Luca, with his vast experience of human behaviour, observed from the many homes in which he has been fostered, has the understanding to solve the mystery.

Not all of the mysteries feature murder. In The Beast of Bedleywood by Annabelle Sami, siblings Rumi and Tamsin solve two mysteries and gain a surprise extra present. The Christmas Heist by Abiola Bello, is a tale of skulduggery and rivalry between two dance troupes. Cool for Cats by Patrice Lawrence is a contemporary family mystery wrapped around a cat-sitting story. It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief is a twisty heist story written by Maisie Chan, with a fun plot featuring the kidnap of a famous cat burglar which threatens to ruin the Christmas celebrations of her family! The Frostwilds by Dominique Valente is a fantasy story with a mythical quality, while The Ticking Funhouse by Benjamin Dean is a very creepy tale set in a neglected fun fair attraction. The collection concludes with The Coven at Christmas by Sharna Jackson, a mystery set in a remote community on the Cornish coast, which builds to a tense denouement.

This varied selection really does provide something for everyone, most of the stories are about 30 pages long, providing the perfect reading length, and exercise for the little grey cells, to enjoy between Christmas activities. I love the diverse representation of characters, families and settings which make this a wonderfully inclusive collection. Primary and secondary school libraries should definitely ensure that this is on offer in their Christmas collections, and it would make an excellent Christmas gift for children aged 9 to early teens.

This book was my own purchase.

Jane Austen’s 250th Birthday: Children’s Books Inspired by the Great Author

I will be forever grateful to my secondary school English teacher who introduced me to the works of Jane Austen through an analysis of Mr Collins’ proposal to Elizabeth Bennet; it sparked a life-long love of Austen’s novels, some of which I have read multiple times since that first reading of Pride & Prejudice at age 14. I am always overjoyed when I find books written for children, which might spark their interest in further exploring her works, at a later age when they can access her sparkling wit and social commentary. Therefore, on the date which marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, I want to present a short round-up of middle grade books that I’ve discovered over the past few years.

Firstly, because it is appropriately seasonal, The Christmas Wish-tastrophe by Cariad Lloyd, published in hardback in 2024 (and published in paperback in 2025 under the new title of Lydia Marmalade and the Christmas Wish). This book is magical, funny and charming and contains many references to Pride and Prejudice, it is illustrated by Ma Pe. It is eminently suitable for independent readers aged 8 years and above, and I would also imagine would be a delight for adult fans of Jane Austen to share with children in the classroom or at home. You can find my review here.

Next two excellent, historical, detective mystery novels written by Julia Golding, which feature the young Jane Austen using her razor-sharp observational skills to unravel mysterious occurrences. These stories are perfect for middle grade readers aged 9 years plus who are fans of historical mysteries by authors such as Katherine Woodfine, Robin Stevens and Sufiya Ahmed. You can click on the links to read my reviews for Jane Austen Investigates The Abbey Mystery and Jane Austen Investigates The Burglar’s Ball.

Finally, the publisher Hachette Children’s Books commissioned some top-rated children’s authors to retell the original Jane Austen novels in language accessible for middle grade readers, in the Awesomely Austen series. My absolute favourite is Katherine Woodfine’s version of Pride and Prejudice, which is beautifully illustrated by Églantine Ceulemans. This book brings all the wit and vivacity of the original to life for a young audience, includes many of the key lines from the original, and additionally contains endnotes providing some period detail and a short biography of Jane Austen. I would have loved this at age 10, and I love it still at considerably older! Also available in the Awesomely Austen series are:

Jane Austen’s Emma rewritten by Katy Birchall

Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility rewritten by Joanna Nadin

Jane Austen’s Persuasion rewritten by Narinder Dhami

Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park rewritten by Ayisha Malik

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey rewritten by Steven Butler

Each book in the series is illustrated by Églantine Ceulemans.

#Christmas Anthology: A Children’s Literary Christmas, compiled and edited by Anna James

Published 2019 by The British Library, ISBN: 978-0712352796

This wonderful anthology of Christmas tales is a perfect collection for busy teachers, parents and carers, and children to dip into for bite-sized chunks of seasonal wonder, in between all the activities which seem to fill December. The carefully curated selection of short stories, poems or extracts from longer books, put together by Anna James, provides something for every taste. In her introduction she points out that some of the extracts have been included because they have a snowy, wintery setting and the content points to “the spirit of Christmas – kindness and taking care of those around us.”

The book is divided into five parts:

Father Christmas

The Magic of Christmas

Family Celebrations

The Gift of Giving

Christmas Spirit

The first item dates from 1823; the classic poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore, there are stories and letters written by many well-known authors from the Victorian and Edwardian periods and more recent stories and extracts from works by contemporary authors, Kes Gray, Swapna Haddow, Michael Morpurgo and Matt Haig. The range of imagination celebrated in this book is immense, and will entertain young readers (or listeners) as well as conjuring up some nostalgia for older consumers. I was delighted to find extracts from a number of stories that I had previously enjoyed reading both as a child myself as well as to my own children. Particular highlights for me were Chapter 6 from The Phoenix and the Carpet which rekindled childhood memories, and Chapter 1 from A House at Pooh Corner by A A Milne, In Which a House is Built at Pooh Corner for Eeyore (which I have probably read aloud more than a hundred times). The moment when Piglet says “Only warmer” to explain the position of Eeyore’s house makes me smile every single time I read it!

I think that this is a charming book to gift to a child, and I would also imagine that school librarians and classroom teachers would find it a valuable addition to their collections at this time of year.

This book was my own purchase.

#MG Christmas Books: Operation Nativity by Jenny Pearson, illustrated by Katie Kear

Cover image by Katie Kear, published by Usborne, 9 November 2023,
ISBN: 978-1801315111

Jenny Pearson has built a reputation in the middle grade books market for her talent of creating stories which combine laugh-out-loud humour with genuine heartfelt emotion and this Christmas story is a wonderful demonstration of her skill. Readers are likely to chuckle through the majority of this warm-hearted story of a traditional Nativity play, and then find their eyes welling up at certain moments, the content of which I will not disclose as I don’t want to spoil the story for those who have not read it yet.

The story is recounted in the first person voice of 11-year-old Oscar, who, with his 5-year-old sister Molly, and Mum and Dad, have been commanded to spend Christmas at the stately home of Dad’s parents, aka Lord and Lady Cuthbert-Anderson. Mum has always tried her best to avoid Christmas with the in-laws, mainly because Grandmother, Araminta (Minty) directs a very ambitious Nativity play in the village church and insists that all the family take starring roles in the production. This year however, Mum has run out of excuses and there is word that Grandfather is sick, so the family make the trek from the Midlands to Chipping Bottom in Hampshire to join Dad’s extended family for the holiday.

On the first night at Barlington Hall, Oscar sees a bright flash in the sky followed by the sound of a crash. He and Molly go out to the fields to investigate and are hugely surprised by the discovery of a discombobulated Angel Gabriel. It turns out that he overdid his “announcing” role 2000-odd years ago, and has somehow transported Mary, Joseph, a donkey, Balthazar and a shepherd called Steve, forward in time and to a destination rather far from Bethlehem. What’s more, he has lost his companions en route to Hampshire and now needs to enlist the help of Oscar and Molly to save Christmas! The story that follows combines Araminta’s efforts to ensure that the 100th anniversary production of the Chipping Bottom Nativity is the best ever performance, with Oscar and Molly’s quest to round up the participants from the original Nativity so that they can be transported back to Bethlehem. The resulting crossed-wires, subterfuge and mix-ups are very funny indeed.

This tale has a lovely underlying theme of a family drawing closer together; the bonding that occurs over the course of the story is beautifully constructed. I really loved the multi-generational links as well as the sibling relationships and the very moving depiction of the love built up over a long marriage between the grandparents. I think that Operation Nativity would be an ideal book for adults and children to read together, it is also perfect for independent readers aged 9+. There are delightful greyscale illustrations by Katie Kear throughout the book and she has also decorated the chapter titles (which are puns on Christmas carols and songs) with baubles, lights and greenery.

This book was my own purchase and I would recommend it to everyone building a collection of Christmas stories for children.

#MG Christmas Review: The Miraculous Sweetmakers – The Frost Fair by Natasha Hastings, illustrated by Alex T Smith

Cover image by Alex T Smith, published by Harper Collins, October 2023, ISBN: 978-0008496081.

A perfect book to read when the first frosts appear in the run up to Christmas, The Miraculous Sweetmakers – The Frost Fair took my breath away! It is a book which I bought several years ago after reading gushing reviews by many blogging friends, but as with many books which I actually buy myself, it kept on slipping down the TBR stack due to the number of books that I am sent by publishers.

There were many aspects of this middle grade novel that I enjoyed. Firstly, it is beautifully written in a style and rhythm that just compelled me to read one more chapter even when my eyes were drooping with tiredness. The historical setting of the London borough of Southwark during the Great Frost of 1683, had clearly been deeply researched, and provided a fascinating and authentic backdrop to a tale of mystery and magic. Layered into the fantasy plot was a sophisticated and subtle exploration of grief, mental health and the ability of females to manage their own livelihood during a period of history when women could be carted off to Bedlam to be treated like circus exhibits by the medical professionals of the day. As a librarian who works in an NHS library, I am always happy to find books which highlight both mental and physical health issues, because they can provide readers with the vocabulary to discuss their own health. One of the main protagonists in this book, Thomasina, loses her twin brother to an asthma attack in the first chapter, and also suffers from ‘the wheeze’ herself, and early treatments for this illness are described when Thomasina befriends Anne who is training as an apothecary. I loved this element of medical history running through the storyline.

After the death of Arthur, her twin, Thomasina lives a life wracked by a combination of guilt and grief. Her mother has taken to her bed and become a silent ghost in the house, while her father continues to run the family sweet making business but has lost all of his previous joy. Thomasina helps with the business and tries to take care of her mother, but life is harsh and lonely, until the Thames freezes over and the local merchants of Southwark decide to take their business out onto the ice. For Thomasina, the Frost Fair brings two opportunities. She meets Anne, who works in her uncle’s apothecary shop, and with whom she begins to create sweets with healing ingredients, the two girls building a firm friendship as they develop their business. Secondly, she is visited by a spectre who leads her to the Other Frost Fair, where she encounters the mysterious Father Winter, who offers her a deadly bargain. Will the offer to raise her brother from the dead prove too tempting to refuse? Will Thomasina’s friends, Anne and Henry, be able to save her from the fate of the Frost Folk? And can anything be done to save Thomasina’s mother from her deep melancholy? This glittering adventure will sweep readers through an ice-covered landscape to the answers.

The Miraculous Sweetmakers – The Frost Fair is a perfect book to snuggle up with during the winter months, and would make an ideal Christmas present for children aged 9+. I am kicking myself that I waited so long to pick it up from my bookshelf, my consolation being that there is a second book in the series ready for me to enjoy. This is definitely a book that I would place firmly in the ‘reading for pleasure’ category, and I should mention that throughout the book there are beautifully atmospheric illustrations by Alex T Smith. It is a frosty adventure to warm the heart.