Enter this enchanting and captivating story from Lisa Lueddecke and prepare yourself for riveting action, shock plot-twists and dark, lurking, evil round every non-suspecting corner. Carried by a brilliant cast of characters The Forest of Ghosts and Bones is a book no reader will want to miss.
From the blurb;
'You are the girl who can walk in the rain, and I am the boy who knows the way.
'As dark power surges, three strangers are bound together on a journey of discovery.
'For Beata, whose brother has been taken by the deadly rains falling on the haunted castle above her village, it means unravelling long-buried secrets.
'For Liljana, it is an escape from the shadows, running from those who seek to destroy her.
'And for Benedek, a chance at a new life, rising about his humble beginnings.
'Will they unite to fight the darkness, or will each be seduced by power and all that it offers?'
Liljana is the dark to Beata's light in this split perspective short novel. Switching between characters throughout the book Lueddecke gifts us with a wide view of the continent in which our characters live, revealing the darkness that has seeped across the land in all it's forms before beginning the adventure which seeks to end it's plague like spread.
Lueddecke takes her time bringing these three characters together, letting each play out their own story lines, and face their own battles, before knitting their paths. This allows the reader to fully embrace each individual character for their own strengths and hardships, and gives us a look at what's happening across the story's world.
Filled with magic that has been twisted in the eyes of those without it, the story is packed with edge of your seat adventure from the first page. As Liljana fights for her life in a city that wishes to condemn her, Beata is faced with a more mysterious foe, the castle which kills all who enter it's rains.
Throughout the novel the castle is said to tempt people into it's deadly rains, and Lueddecke crafts it so beautifully that as the reader that temptation to enter the dangerous grounds is felt through the page.
Throughout the novel Lueddecke's descriptive talents stand strong, fully immersing us into this thwart and magical world while her well designed characters carry the story with ease, keeping it's fast pace running naturally and surviving each new challenge with skill, grace and emotional resonance.
A beautiful tale of magic and found family no reader will want to miss out on.
We give The Forest of Ghosts and Bones five stars
ISBN - 978-1-407195-54-4 Cover price - £7.99 Published in the UK by Scholastic Children's Books, 2020
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