Quill and the Last Generation
by C M Lewis, illustrated by Maria Vidal
Interest age: 9 to 14
Reading age: 9+
Published by Macmillan Children's Books, 2025
About this book
For 12 years it has been never-ending winter. Food is getting scarcer, life is getting harder and no children have been born in that time. And no one knows why.
Then Quill, the last child to be born, is visited by a young shape-shifter in the form of a raven and everything changes. Following her to the Underworld, Quill finds himself immersed in a realm of magic, dragons and lost souls where the balance of light and dark has been disrupted and the light of the world is in danger of going out forever.
The people there think Quill is the hero who can save them. But can he overcome self-doubt and rise to the challenge?
Drawing on Celtic myths and Welsh language stories, Quill’s adventures are a great mix of human and supernatural elements that look at the good and bad, winter and summer that bring stability to the world.
This wonderful tale about life, death, the fate of human souls and the courage to embrace your destiny, even if it scares you, is packed with memorable characters. The plot is complex but coherent with some dramatic battle scenes and the promise of further adventures to come.
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