Tilly and the Bookwanderes - Anna James

Title: Tilly and the Bookwanderes
Author: Anna James
Genre: Childrens, fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 390
Date read: October, 2020

A magical adventure to delight the imagination. A curl-up-on-the-sofa debut from a uniquely talented author.

Eleven year-old Tilly has lived above her grandparents' bookshop ever since her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Like the rest of her family, Tilly loves nothing more than to escape into the pages of her favourite stories.

One day Tilly realises that classic children's characters are appearing in the shop through the magic of `book wandering' - crossing over from the page into real life.

With the help of Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. Tilly is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago, so she bravely steps into the unknown, unsure of what adventure lies ahead and what dangers she may face.



I had this recommended to me by a friend in a very round-about way... he hadn't read it himself, but his wife had bought it, and she immediately thought (even before reading it, I think) that it would be something I would enjoy. As luck would have it, I stumbled across it in a bookstore just the following week, and thought it sounded charming enough, so I decided to pick it up.

(Both my friend and his wife laughed quite hard when they heard that explanation - can't imagine why... :-P )

Anyway, once I saw what the main premise of the book was, I just knew that it would be perfect for the readathon. I love books about books, and this seemed like it would fit the bill perfectly. I was right too - sure, it's a children's book, and what you see is very much what you get, but it was delightful and charming and I smiled my way through it. It's not high literature in any sense of the word, but it's funny and engaging and I loved it.

Though it's the first in a series, it worked quite well as a stand-alone novel, so I haven't quite decided yet, whether or not I'm going to continue on with the series.

The Crooked Sixpence - Jennifer Bell

Title: The Crooked Sixpence
Author: Jennifer Bell
Genre: Childrens, fantasy
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 384
Date read: October, 2020

When Ivy Sparrow’s grandmother Sylvie is rushed to hospital, Ivy and her annoying big brother Seb cannot imagine what lies in store for them. Returning to Sylvie’s house, they find it has been ransacked by unknown intruders – then a mysterious feather scratches an ominous message onto the kitchen wall, and a very strange policeman is determined to apprehend them . . . with a toilet brush. Ivy and Seb make their escape – only to find themselves in a completely uncommon world.

The forces of evil are closing in fast, and if Ivy and Seb are ever to see their parents again, they must get to the bottom of a family secret as shameful as it is incredible... before it’s too late.


After a false start or two, I finally got properly into this book at the most recent readathon, where it fit the bill perfectly. In genre and feel it reminded me a bit of "Un Lun Dun" by China Miéville (although not in plot at all). I liked it well enough, but found certain parts of it slightly too disjointed. Some things seemed to happen for the sake of plot, rather than because it made sense in the universe. I might feel differently on rereading it, as I now know the universe.