Shamanka - Jeanne Willis

Dug out by... Dave

What is magic? What is illusion? What is real?

Those three questions on the cover of this book are delving deep into the mind of the readers even before you open up. The magician's oath - practise until perfect, then never tell how - sets the tone for the story as it unfolds.

12-year-old Sam Khaan is in search of her father, hunting for what's real and what's not. She sets off on a globe-trotting journey which takes her away from the horrors of her gin-swilling and violent Aunt Candy... but where does it take her to? Well, enough countries to run the Olympics and enough intrigue to last you a lifetime.

Oh yes, and she takes an orang-utan with her.

There are some fabulous characters in this book and some great revelations about the world of magic. Have you ever wondered how to levitate, for instance? Can you read minds?

Babies know the secret, of course, but they're not much help are they? What is the meaning of life? You'll have to read the book and find out, won't you.

You only have to take one look at my list of tags to see how packed it is.


Longlisted for Carnegie 08.

If you like this, try...

The Scarecrow and his Servant - Philip Pullman
Shadow Forest - Matt Haig

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K.Rowling

Dug out by... Dave

The final instalment. Harry's quest is to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. The two superpowers literally go head to head in a cat and mouse battle that ebbs and flows throughout 600 pages. Friends and enemies old and new present themselves as The Boy Who Lived blossoms from boy to man.

The epic tale which ends the epic schooldays of Harry Potter begins with a dastardly plan to kidnap and kill our boy wonder. Can he thwart The Dark Lord? Will Snape achieve his long-held desires? Will Harry survive his final outing?

Does anyone really need to be prompted into reading it? Probably not. Enjoy...

Longlisted for Carnegie 08.

Postbag ~ Empty

The Pinhoe Egg - Diana Wynne Jones

Dug out by... Dave

A huge cast of magical characters inhabit the village around Chrestomanci Castle. The various family members of the Pinhoes, Farleighs and Cleeves are constantly bickering and vying for supremacy. Gammer Pinhoe - 'the old bat' - kicks things off from her tattered armchair. Clothed in layers of black with Nutcase, her cat, in attendance, she doles out orders , setting various plot threads in motion. It's already a world of chaos and when Cat Chant finds the Pinhoe Egg, it doesn't make things any easier.



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