Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK

Martha doesn’t have time to play anymore.  Martha is ten, the age when you have to start acting like a grown-up. Not growing up comes with repercussions – like the Terrible Day – and Martha is not going to let that happen again. So, Martha now makes lists, not adventures, much to the confusion and disappointment of Scruff her younger brother, for whom adventure is like breathing, you can’t live without it. But Martha can’t ignore the mystery of the window that would not close. Scruff maintained that it allowed the fairy in that ruffled his hair into a tangled nest every night. Martha thought that was just a silly childish notion, although she had to admit it was beginning to worry her. For several nights now, leaves had appeared by the open window, but there were no trees on their street and more than that, their Father, who could identify every type of tree that grew at Kew Gardens, had to admit that he had never seen leaves like them…

Author of the Unmapped Chronicles and the Dreamsnatcher series, Elphinstone is no stranger to children’s fiction writing, but taking on the re-writing of a children’s classic of such magnitude as Peter Pan was a risky and controversial venture. Thankfully Elphinstone’s adventurous spirit in real life translates wonderfully into a thrilling adventure that is accessible and enjoyable for younger readers as it is thought-provoking for older ones. Maybe we should all think about doing a little growing down instead of up? I will certainly be keeping my bedroom open in the hope a little magic might spill its way in.