By: Diana Wynne Jones
Jocelyn Brandon died leaving his house and magical field-of-care to his grandson Andrew. Unfortunately he doesn’t leave Andrew any instructions and Andrew has forgotten most of what he learnt while staying with his grandfather during his childhood. He does however remember the strong-willed staff, the fact his grandfather put large inedible vegetables on the roof of the shed and the stained glass window in the kitchen door that must be protected.
Andrew has plans when he first moves in but they have nothing to do with his field-of-care and finding out about that involves a steep learning curve. Into this situation comes young orphaned Aiden, who was seeking out Jocelyn for help. Andrew takes Aiden in and it becomes clear there is some kind of connection between them. Aiden can see magic and he helps Andrew as Andrew helps him. There is a mystery to solve and they will need to do it together if everything is to be set right.
The setup may be vaguely familiar, a little town populated by quirky characters. A house populated by unknowing new-comers and strong-willed old hands. It needs to be said though that in no way does this equate to a stale story. Andrew is seen as he is but also shaded by other characters views of him, Mrs Stock’s continual comment, ‘World of his own, that man!’, for example. Aiden brings youth and freshness to the story which results in Andrew getting in touch with the person he was and could be. Strong-willed characters clashing yet coming together bring humour and vitality to the story, each of them adding colour, like a pane from the glass window. I was intrigued by the magical characters introduced at the heart of the mystery, a twist on some familiar faces. Once again Jones has written an intriguing and dare I say enchanting story that is capable of sweeping you away from whatever your reality is.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 07 January 2010
Format: Hardback 336 pages
Categories: Fantasy
ISBN 13: 9780007320783
Purchase: here or click on Booktopia logo on side of page
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