2001, The Chicken House
284 pages
Childrens, 9+ (boys and girls)
Clouds: 2
Smiles: 4
Overall rating: 4/5
Tea-drinking witches in the heart of England, a stranded princess and an albatross are a few of the characters who help Abby, and her friend Spike take on the Dark Witches. The years the Witches of Light have been fighting their evil counterparts, fighting over the use of Ice dust (think fairy dust, only it makes magic work). Abby lives in an English village which no-one else has heard of. The reason for this, is that its a magical village. All the residents are witches. She and Spike are the only children there - the others disappeared for reasons I'm not disclosing. Her Aunt and Uncle are more than happy for her to set off with Captain Starlight in an unusual boat - they know him from the past and realise he can help find Abby's parents.
Compared to the considerably darker books I've been reading lately, this was a fun book. There's mild peril, but nothing which has me reaching for a cushion. I smiled at the delight as Abby discovered an uncanny ability with magic, in particular invisibility. There are times when I'd like to become invisible just by whistling a tune. Her friend, a foundling, Spike - he provides a bit of mystery throughout the story because I kept wondering who he is. Why he had a spike when he was found, why he lost his memory, why he can swim like a fish (and talk with them). All the answers are revealed by the end - and they are quite surprising. The Atlantis cloaks reminded me a little of the almost sentient body suits in
The small grumble I have isn't to do with the writing, but the layout. There's one set of pages where its a little tricky to read the writing because of the picture set behind the text. I managed to make the words out, but it wasn't the easiest.
Definitely a book to recommend.
No comments:
Post a Comment