A story of sisterhood, overcoming challenges and teamwork.
I loved this book and most especially the three sisters. It took me on a journey I didn’t expect but at its core is great characters and great relationships.

This book is just perfectly magical. Can that be the entire review? No? Okay. But trust me, it is.

Betty Widdershins is the middle sister of three, and together with 17 year old Fliss and 6 year old Charlie, she lives with her grandmother (and a cat called Oi!) above their pub on the tiny island of Crowstone. Their mother is dead, and their father is in prison. Betty is itching to get off the island and see the world, but on her thirteenth birthday, Granny breaks some bad news… The girls are beset with a family curse, and may never leave the island. From there, the story takes some enthralling magical twists, but at its heart it is always a story about loyalty, family, strength, and the power of sisterly love.

It’s gorgeous. Opening the book and reading the first page feels like sinking into a bath that’s just the right temperature. The foggy, dark, enveloping atmosphere of Crowstone is almost palpable – and it’s written so beautifully that after a couple of pages I didn’t even notice myself holding the book. I devoured it in one sitting, wrapped in a blanket on a rainy day with Tomte the cat purring on my legs – and if that image sounds tempting, then this is the book for you.

Betty is a fabulous main character, full of pluck and big ideas, but all three of the sisters are wonderfully drawn. I loved that Charlie wasn’t written at all patronisingly, despite being quite a small child, and I loved that Fliss wasn’t at all ashamed of enjoying her own flirtatiousness. There isn’t a single character in this book that doesn’t feel completely real. The magical objects which the girls take possession of are so clever, and well-suited to them (no matter what Betty might initially think!) – actually, all of the magic in this book is so perfectly woven into the setting of Crowstone and the personalities of the Widdershins family. It almost gives it the feel of a fairytale or a legend – something about the story just feels right.

I know I would have fallen head-over-heels-in-love with this book as a kid, so if you know a young reader who’s a fan of Diana Wynne Jones, The House With Chicken Legs, or even E Nesbit, make sure to get them a copy of this when it publishes in February. For older lovers of MG fiction, this is ideal – it’s a book to be rushed through once to discover the ways the story unfolds, and then to be read again slowly and savoured. I’m going to be buying everything else Michelle Harrison ever writes. An absolutely certain five out of five stars.

This was a wonderful story full of the bravery and love of the Widdershins sisters. The three girls are well written characters who could almost leap off the page and be sitting next to you sharing their story. It was bold and dramatic in places, and a little bit scary especially when a large prison inmate becomes entangled in the story. The plot well and truly thickened then and I was so scared for the girls.
Granny Widdershins is a force to be reckoned with and although tough on the outside, she is full of love for these girls,
I could not get enough of the history and curse surrounding the family and wanted to learn more about Sorsha Spellthorn just like Betty, the intrepid explorer sister, Fliss and Charlie are also big personalities and the sisters compliment each other brilliantly,
Without saying too much, the girls need to work together to beat a family curse! Everyday objects are integral in saving the family name and getting back home, where they belong!
This is a must read for children who love adventures, magic and mischievous girls!

A fascinating tale of three sisters who find that they are to be given a magical object when they each reach 14 years. However they also discover that they are doomed to live on their island home forever, because their is a family curse that says they will die within a day if they leave the island. This is an exciting and magical adventure as they try to break the curse, hopefully overcoming escaped prisoners and the ever closer death threat in the process. This is a great story for young girls in particular and teaches lessons about trust and empowerment.