Beyond Platform 13

Unlike all of her friends, 9-year-old Lina Lasky believes in every kind of magic, from wizard’s spells to witch’s potions, mermaids to mystical creatures. So when she is mistaken for an expert on "mistmakers" by the beautiful hag Odge Gribble and taken through a magic portal (known as a "gump") in Vienna, she finds it impossible not to go along with it. And this is how Lina finds herself on a quest to save prince Ben and the magical world of Mist.

This thrilling adventure is actually a sequel to Eva Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13, but it certainly stands alone, and the reading experience will not at all be hampered by not having read the original. It’s a wonderful, rollicking read.

The characters (many inspired by Eva Ibbotson’s original) are brilliantly interpreted, brave and funny. Lina herself in a wonderful new heroine with incredible problem-solving abilities, despite having no magical powers whatsoever.

The pace of this story tears along and it’s really exciting being totally immersed in this incredible magical world. It's a great adventure story in it’s own right that will also encourage children to want to read more Eva Ibbotson, which can only be a good thing. The book will also suit fans of the first couple of Harry Potter books by J K Rowling (Eva Ibbotson’s The Secret of Platform 13 also has a portal from King's Cross train station and was actually published three years before the first Harry Potter!). 

All in all, this new book feels like a modern classic.