I loved this! Such a clever and original concept. When people speak, the words can be seen as well as heard. Words hang in the air and fall to the ground, shaped and coloured to reflect the mood and situation of the speaker, ready to be swept up at the end of the day or left to fade away. Or to be collected. Gala has moved from Spain with her dad, to live in Scotland with his boyfriend. She is learning to speak English and desperately misses her home in Spain. She meets another girl, Natalie, who has her own difficulties with spoken English and the two new friends begin writing poems, using their collected words, to cheer up their classmates. This goes well and the poems make lots of people happy, until someone copies the idea but sends unkind messages instead. Gala and Natalie have a lot to overcome if they are to convince everyone that they are not behind the latest set of poems.

CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO EXPRESS HOW INCREDIBLE THIS IS! Holding back the full review until nearer the publication date, but this is one of the most beautiful explorations of language, the power of words, and communication in general I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Brave, clever, and innovative, Away With Words demonstrates the very best of what children's fiction can do - it's pure, lyrical magic from start to finish.