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Waterstones Book of the Year 2023Impossible CreaturesAuthor: Katherine RundellPublisher: Bloomsbury Children’s BooksISBN: 978-1-4088-9741 – 6Price: £14.99

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Mal, myth and mystery

The soil and water are dying! The creatures are dying! The world is dying!Katherine Rundell’s book is an exciting adventure story about two friends, Christopher and Mal, who have to restore the ancient tree and save the mythical creatures. Mal and Christopher meet because Christopher goes to his grandfather’s house and is told not to go up a hill but what does he do? Go up it! That is where he meets Mal and they become friends.They go on thrilling adventures and travel across many islands. The plot has a lot of twists and turns, I won’t spoil it for you but their magical items come in really handy! They make friends with a dragon, along with a rebel boat crew (one of whom, called a ratatoska, looks a bit like a squirrel) who travel the islands with them, and they meet sphinxes, centaurs, griffins and unicorns along the way.Mal can fly using her special coat, has a pet baby griffin (the last one in existence), is not completely human and is being chased by a murderer!I loved it and highly recommend it.Luciano Patacchiola, aged 9

I read this book because I got it for Christmas and I have liked other books by Katherine Rundell, especially The Explorer and Rooftoppers.The main characters are Christopher, who is a normal boy, and Mal, who is an immortal girl who can fly. Christopher rescues Gelifen, an injured baby griffin who happens to belong to Mal. They meet and together travel to return Mal and Gelifen to the Archipelago - which is Mal’s home.Along the way, someone who is trying to kill them for Mal’s powers chases them, and they go on an adventure together to save themselves. Along the way, they bump into others who help them escape. This book is full of fantasy creatures such as griffins, dragons and centaurs. At the start of the book, you are introduced to all the creatures you will come across throughout the story. This is useful because there is a wide a range of mythical creatures in the book and you need to know about them and their characteristics.Personally, it’s not the genre of book for me. I prefer ‘real-life’ fiction but, if you love fantasy novels, this would be the perfect book for you. It is full of action and adventure which gets more and more exciting with every turn of the page.Eva Deacon, aged 11