Jenny McLachlan Books

Rose and Arthur are preparing to return to the land of Roar for another trip when they have to postpone due to their aunt Chaya and cousin Lila visiting. As the trip prolongs, they find themselves longing to be back in Roar with their best friends (Win and Mitch) exploring their made-up land and riding Dragons. Rose is busying herself writing a book about Roar, which her twin, Arthur, is not allowed to read. After sneaking a peek, Arthur wants to add his own ideas before reading a rather haunting extract about Jago, a wicked Witch King, who steals children and replaces them with stick changelings. Later that night, he hears his baby cousin cry out in the night and goes to comfort her. As he holds her hand, he feels her chubby fingers dig into his hand and feels sticks. Is Jago real and has he managed to sneak out of Roar and take his cousin? They need to get back into Roar and find out what is happening.

After the success of the Land of Roar series, I was really excited to read this book. I was hooked on the story line and found myself staying up late to read another chapter.  The book works as a continuation of the Roar series or as a complete standalone, with the characters and world fully introduced in the first chapter. The story was engaging and the chapters built suspense as we tried to find out if Jago (The Witch King) was alive, whether Rose and Arthur would be successful in becoming Dragon Riders and whether the lost children could be found and returned to the normal states.

The way the story ended allows the author to prepare for another story in the series. I think that this series of books will be a hit with KS2 children and they will be waiting in anticipation for the next in the series.