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The Girl of Ink and Stars





The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave 
Published by Chicken House (UK) 
Buy From Waterstones 

This is the tale of Isabella, who along with her father lives on the small island of Joya. 
Joya is controlled by the wicked Governor who came from across the sea and forbade all to leave, then banished those who resisted his rule away from the town Gromera and put up borders to divide the island. 

When, one day, a girl from Isabella's school is murdered, everything in her life begins to change. Chasing after her friend Lupe (the governor's daughter) who runs into the forest to prove she's brave and find the murderer, Isabella gets caught up in the myth and magic of the island and soon finds out that the bed time stories she was told may be closer to the truth than anyone thought. 

***** 

I was recommended this book by a bookseller friend at Waterstones, with the caveat of it being similar to Philip Pullman's 'Northern Lights' and with it's gorgeous cover and internal art work I couldn't resist. You can definitely see that a lot of love has gone in to creating this book and I'm definitely a sucker for anything with a map; however, I really do struggle to find the comparison to 'His Dark Materials', which are books I grew up with and still love...
The adventure Isabella goes on to find her friend can sometimes feel really rushed, with a huge amount of plot captured in just over 200 pages. Kiran Millwood Hargrave weaves what is potentially a really magical tale, but unfortunately I never found myself really invested in what was happening. There are of course many amazing moments, I love the intricacies of map making that are weaved into the back story and how we are definitely reading about a story set on earth, despite being on an island of myth.

Despite not falling head over heels in love with The Girl of Ink and Stars I'd say it's perfect for young middle grade audiences who are looking for something a bit more challenging than Blyton and Walliams. And I absolutely look forward to seeing what Kiran writes now she got her first novel behind her. 

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