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As a lover of physics, Suzy suddenly finds everything she thought she knew thrown into question as she becomes an accidental passenger and then postie on the Impossible Places postal express. I love Suzy’s scientific curiosity; her drive to find out and make sense of this new world is irresistible. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. This ambitious debut is set in 1896, but in an alternative history - almost steampunk - with clockwork servants, silver airships and mechanical animals. It’s not every day that a magical train drives through your hallway but that’s what happens to Suzy at the opening of this terrific adventure story.
Suzy, a physics-loving 11-year-old, wakes up to find a troll laying train tracks through her living room. I love his monthly TBR game he does where I learn about more middle grade books I should pick up and read. When Wilmot (a lone troll postie) discovers Suzy aboard the Postal express, he inducts her as member of the postal service. Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap.Find out about the latest book in the 'Girl, Missing' series, Secret Sister, in this short video by author Sophie McKenzie. However, as the story progressed and became more complicated, additional storylines were created with different side characters having their own side stories. There's a lot of confusion with the lack of explanations/being thrown into the middle of a magical world but I think it actually leant itself well. It is kinda sorta but not really like Harry Potter, in that the protagonist is a child who enters into a world of magic.
I can’t really tell what is wrong with this book, but, for some reason, I just couldn’t really vibe with it. I cried a lot - I first cried at the bit where Wilmot and Fredrick were going to crash into the ivory tower after they had tried so much to get to it and they were saying that they were going to die, and I just cried because I didn’t want them to die after they had come so far. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. It is a distinct pleasure to read a fantasy quest that doesn’t depend on a parent being absent, abducted or dead, as the impetus, but instead on the main character doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. We are now about half way through and all 25 of my reluctant readers have given it a 10/10 so far - a first for any book we have looked at together.As a class novel or guided reading book, I feel this text has a lot of breadth for discussion and linked cross-curricular work. Crepuscula, the villain, is convincingly scary - the sense of menace drives the pace at breakneck speed, full steam ahead. This is such a fun and light-hearted book which I think is aimed at an audience of all ages for different reasons. When Suzy hears a strange rattling noise in the middle of the night, she creeps downstairs to find a train roaring through her house! From the beginning of the story, Suzy was already thrown into a magical world, without being explained why she could see the trolls and was not affected from their magic.
Suzy finds herself visiting worlds she never knew existed and encountering all kinds of people, some good, some bad and some - yet to be decided upon. The places we would visit and the characters we would meet were all distinctive and perfect for the fantasy genre.But just before midnight strikes, the mysterious Jupiter North appears, offering Morrigan another choice: journey with him to Nevermore.
However, in contrast, there were moments that I felt the story became too cluttered with too much action that I lost my focus on what was happening. In some areas, I really want to give this book at least a three star rating because of how magical and unique the storyline was. Born on Eventide, Morrigan Crow is a 'cursed child', blamed for every misfortune and destined to die on her eleventh birthday.
The Impossible Places are wonderful new worlds and I loved everything about this debut - the characters, the ideas and the twists in the tale.
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