Today I was whisked away into the Hinterland on a rescue mission by Rachel Kline and it was amazing!

When last seen Rachel and her friends saved their country Krasnia from an evil dictator in “The Book of Stolen Dreams”. In doing so they had to find and destroy the Book, the only way into and out of the Hinterland where people go once they die. Rachel is left with a special Blood Red Key, which she hides away assuming it will not be needed in their now bright, happy, friendly Krasnia. However, one day a boy mysteriously appears holding a matching key he explains it’s importance to Rachel as one of the “Keepers of the Key “. Not long after the library is ransacked, strange things occur with her ghostly friends and the key does indeed ket her know she must act to save all that she knows and loves once again.

“The Blood Red Key” successfully recaps the previous adventures from “The Book of Stolen Dreams” introducing both old and new characters without ruining the narrative. It is a mesmerising adventure story. I loved it and thoroughly recommend readers to hold on tight to the Blood Red Key and join Rachel and her brother Robert as they save us all.

The Secret of the Blood-Red Key is one of my most highly-anticipated sequels this year! After being glued to The Book of Stolen Dreams two years ago, I jumped at the chance to spend more time with Rachel and Robert Klein.

We left this brother and sister pair as heroes. They had defeated an evil dictator, saved their city and destroyed the Book of Stolen Dreams bringing order to the relationship between this world and the Hinterland afterlife. Brava, the capital city of Krasnia, is bright once more and life is finally getting back to how it should be.

When Rachel meets a strange boy with a blood red key similar to the one she has hidden in her bedroom, she realises life may not be as settled as she’d hoped. It seems she’s not the only Keeper of the Key and she’s not alone.

What follows is an incredibly cinematic adventure. A young girl has been smuggled into the mysterious Hinterland and there’s no way to get her back. If Rachel tells others about her key, will she actually be able to go to the Hinterland – and if she survives, will she be able to get back? Once there, she knows she’ll be tempted to find her mother but the thought of leaving her again is too much to bear.

The world building in this book is outstanding. The Hinterland is an imaginative version of the afterlife with complex systems and laws. People are judged by their moral paperwork and allocated a place. There they wait until they are ready to join The Flow – and release their souls from their human bodies forever. Children are taken to the Meadow which is bathed in light and full of colour while villains are sent to the Tyrants’ Tower. There is so much scope for discussion about how we are judged, links to religion and what different people believe happens after we die. Questions of morality, right and wrong, and how we choose to act when faced with crisis will challenge upper key stage two and key stage three classes.

As this fantastic plot plays out, there are so many delicious moments of realisation. I read wide-eyed as it became clear just what the villains were proposing and what would happen to Rachel in the process. Exciting and so thought-provoking, I know young readers will not be able to tear themselves away.

When I read the title that precedes this – The Book of Stolen Dreams – almost exactly two years ago, I said that within the first few pages, it was clear that it was going to be an amazing adventure – one packed with mystery, excitement and just a hint of magic, and that once I had finished it I was left unable to pick anything else up because I needed time to process what I had read and let it linger in my mind before I moved on to something new.

That was an astonishing debut, one which caused a huge buzz on its release and so it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I requested this follow-up on Net Galley. I’ve read an awful lot of books since then and much as I’d intended to return to it and re-read it, I just never found the time. Would this sequel live up to my memories of its predecessor, or would it turn out to be just another read?

Following the events of Book 1, the country of Krasnia and its capital Brava are once again pleasant places to live. No longer is it illegal for children to play happily in parks since the defeat of wicked dictator Charles Malstain, brought about through the courageous acts of siblings Rachel and Robert Klein, who are now national heroes. Heading home when we meet her, Rachel’s journey is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a boy who is clutching a blood-red key identical to the one in her possession. Unsure as to who he is, and why he also has a key, Rachel sits with him on a nearby bench and listens as he tells her they are both Keepers of the Key and that she should use hers wisely when the time comes. Handing her a small card on which is written a phone number to be used in an absolute emergency, he tells her that she is not alone and promptly leaves.

When she reaches home, she tries to relate what has happened to Robert but he is not interested, telling her they need to get back to normal life – something that has not happened since the loss of their much-loved mother, which has left their father unable to cope. As winter changes to spring, the meeting is all but forgotten and Rachel’s thoughts are diverted to a break-in at the library where her father Felix is employed. With Felix unable to face going to work, Rachel heads to the library after school and is shocked to discover that the intruder has broken into the Rare Books Room – the former home of the now destroyed Book of Stolen Dreams.

Going to visit the Meyers – a family of artists connected to the book – Rachel asks them if they know anything about the break-in and is puzzled by their clearly lying to her. With her father too unwell to help and Robert wrapped up in a new group of friends and the exciting prospect of giving a speech he believes will win him a competition, Rachel decides to investigate by herself. Soon she is on the trail of a young girl, Elsa Spiegal, who appears to have been smuggled into the Hinterland and decides that she has no option but to go after her and bring her back. Entering where no living person should go, Rachel finds herself on a dangerous and deadly mission – one which she has 24 hours to complete. Can she find Elsa before time runs out? And how is Elsa’s abduction linked to the Book of Stolen Dreams and the Meyers?

As with Book 1, this is a richly imagined and superbly crafted story. Rachel is a brave and selfless protagonist, whose love for her family and feeling of responsibility as a Keeper shine out of the pages. Hugely empathetic to those around her, when she cannot impress upon Robert the support she needs from him, she sees no alternative to going solo and – finding herself in a terrible situation – still worries about both her brother and the father she has been forced to leave behind in her quest to bring back Elsa, who is a total stranger to her. As she progresses through the Hinterland, she shows herself to be steadfast and resourceful and a character to fall in love with – one that I am really hoping to meet again and again.

Although the word depression is not used, it is clear that Felix Klein is – unsurprisingly – depressed after the death of his wife. While Robert is almost entirely wrapped up in his own life, Rachel treats her father with huge sensitivity and though Felix is a less important character in the book, there will be many children reading this whose adults are similarly suffering from poor mental health. In addition to being a really exciting and gripping read, this would open up some great discussions in upper KS2 classrooms about depression in general and in particular, parental depression, not just how to support those who are unwell but also where children in need of help can find it.

If possible, I think I enjoyed this even more that the first title. Hugely inventive and gorgeously written, this is series which bears reading over and over again. With both stories working well as standalone titles, you can dive straight into this one but I really would recommend reading both in order. I have been left, as before, with a huge book hangover and am desperately hoping that there will be more to come from Rachel and Robert.

As always, I am enormously indebted to publisher Usborne and to Net Galley for my virtual advance read. The Secret of the Blood-Red Key publishes in hardback on September 14th.

Gosh this is all kinds of brilliant. I was genuinely on the edge of my seat at one point! Lost souls, stolen children, death’s door, a familiar enemy, friendship and so much more… Bobby is delightful - some much needed relief in a story that will have you on tenterhooks! I absolutely demolished this. if you loved The Book of Stolen Dreams, you’ll love this!

Rachel and Robert Klein managed to defeat the evil dictator Charles Malstein and send him to the Hinterland and close the gate to the other worlds. But, a break in at the library leaves Rachel suspicious and so when she sees one of their ghost friends sneaking off…well she follows. This tale follows on perfectly from ‘The Book of Stolen Dreams’ and has Rachel wound up in a challenge to beat all challenges, one that could ultimately leave her stuck in one of the closed off worlds.
This is such a great imaginative work and is full of excitement, and adventure, fun and fear. This truly is a story where you can see love, friendship and kindness conquer all. If you’re looking for a story with twists and values then this is for you.

The story is very gripping but I found the idea of children fighting against a dictator a bit disturbing. It is the thought of putting them in harm's way that unsettles me. Sorry, but this just worries me too much.