Book Title: The Frozen Sea (available here)
Author: Piers Torday
Publisher: Quercus Children’s Books
Publication Date: Sept 2019
Most Suitable For: Upper KS2
Reviewed By: Lauren Haines
This is a wonderful adventure story led by a female protagonist, Jewel. Marginalised and unpopular, Jewel is initially being followed by a gang of bullies when she takes refuge in an old, intriguing bookshop. It is in this shop that the magic begins!
Jewel and her hamster, to whom she can talk, get sucked into a mysterious book of maps and soon find themselves stood in the unknown land that was depicted in the book they had been reading. Once in the book, Jewel discovers a completely new world that is in great danger. Her quest as a reader is to help save the new land and learn about herself while doing so. Not only does Jewel discover that she has an important role to play in this new world, she also discovers that she is not the first member of her family to venture into this new world and try and find the frozen sea. Jewel struggles to know who she should trust in this new world – who are her enemies and who are her allies?
This is an adventure story full of twists and turns, emotional turmoil and danger around most corners. Fans of the Last Wild trilogy are sure to love this newest book by Piers Torday. Like his other books, The Frozen Sea has a wonderfully descriptive quality to the writing and Torday transports his readers to a new world with ease and conviction. I also loved how books and reading are given such a significance in this story. This book would be a wonderful stimulus for reading or creative writing sessions in UKS2.
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You can order The Frozen Sea online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Review Panel member Lauren for reviewing it.
Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
> Browse our Topic Booklists
> View our printable year group booklists.
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