Loved both Hyder's other books but didn't finish this one. The pace is very slow and there's lots of chatting, rather than action. The illustrations are weird and random. They don't add much, and they feel out of place in a book for this age group.

In a Nutshell: So tough to describe this book in terms of genre or theme! It is whimsical in a sober way, contemplative without being morose, structured and yet so unstructured. Never expected to see a YA novel to have such depth! (All credit goes to the author, not the genre. Liz Hyder is marvellous!) I don’t know if YA readers will enjoy this, but adult moi loved it a lot.

Plot Preview;
1999. Kit, along with her mother and younger sister Libby, are enjoying the Christmas break in a caravan in Pembrokeshire, Wales. On the eve of the Winter Solstice, Libby insists on going to the church tower at midnight to test a prophecy she heard, and Kit has no choice but to accompany her. But there’s a strange accident that causes Libby and everything connected to her to vanish from the world. Even their mother doesn’t recollect who Libby is.
In this new world that has no trace of her younger sister, Kit is forced to wonder if she had actually made Libby up in a strangely real dream, until she bumps into a local boy named Story – who also remembers Libby. The two team up to discover why Libby vanished in such a mysterious way and how to get her back, but will they have enough time to learn the truth in a world with increasingly catastrophic natural and unnatural events?
The story comes to us in Kit’s first-person perspective.

This is my third book by Liz Hyder. I am a big fan of her writing and loved both ‘The Gifts’ and ‘The Illusions’. However, those were adult fantasies while this is a YA fantasy, and YA isn’t really my cup of tea. In the tussle between my love for the author and my dislike for the genre, the former won. As you can see, the result is quite positive. It proves that good authors can deliver regardless of genre constraints.

Bookish Yays:
⏳ Kit, a strong and courageous protagonist. She isn’t a typical YA character, being more on the introverted side. I guess she’s about 16, so her behaviour matches her age. Her first-person perspective is written brilliantly without going into extensive inner monologues.
⏳ Story, an equally strong character, deserves the shared lead role with Kit. The connection between the two of them progresses along with the plot and feels genuine.
⏳ There are minor shades of romance in the book, but this is never at the forefront of the plot. I appreciate how the author didn’t stress more on the romantic proceedings even though the target age group generally loves “shipping” characters together.
⏳ The storyline is not at all like that we see in typical YA Fantasy novels. (I wonder if this is because the author herself isn't a young adult. The same is applicable to ‘Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe’, which was written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz when he was in his fifties.) There’s a maturity to the writing and the characters, which is missing in most YA books. It also helps that the portrayal of adults is also realistic rather than idiotic. Perhaps that’s why it worked so well for me.
⏳ Though the official promo calls this a YA Fantasy, the plot straddles multiple genres. It’s like a strange YA apocalyptic fantastical environmental time-slip adventurous mystery-thriller mishmash. So weird and yet so wonderfully imaginative!
⏳ The plot covers true life issues as well as imaginary ones without any hitch. There’s a seamless transition between real and fantastical. Almost every scene evokes multiple emotions, but there is an introspective undertone throughout. It’s very thought-provoking, which also caught me by surprise.
⏳ Of all the themes covered in the book, the one closest to my heart was about respecting nature and realising the havoc we have wreaked on the planet and the climate thanks to our mindless destructive actions. I love how the book demonstrates the idea of “we are all in this together” in more ways than one. Some of the scenes gave me major Thanos (of the MCU) vibes!
⏳ The story also offers a deserved ode to the people of the past, whom we so vastly underestimate and easily dismiss as primitive, forgetting that without their initial developments, we wouldn't have lived today the way we do. The plot also highlights how we've lost so many basic survival skills in our overdependence on technology.
⏳ The descriptions are stunning! The writing is so picturesque that I could actually feel the Welsh setting in every scene. Such fabulous imagery!
⏳ A shoutout to the outstanding vocabulary as well! It is such a treat to see words used this intelligently.
⏳ The writing is slowburn yet the story moves at a fast pace. )Does that even make sense?) The slower tempo didn’t bother me at all because the storyline was so gripping right from the first scene that I just couldn’t keep the book aside!
⏳ I love the ending! To be frank, I don’t know if younger readers will share my opinion on this because it is not what we usually find in YA fiction (Not going into spoilers.) But I think it was the best ending for this kind of story.
⏳ Thanks to this book, I now know who Story Musgrave is. Loved that little nugget!

Bookish Nays:
⏲ There are some B&W illustrations in the book, which serve as section divisions. There were good, but as they didn’t depict any scene from the plot, being more object-oriented than action-oriented, I just hopped over them after a point.
⏲ The story leaves a few details unanswered. While these are mostly minor, I still wish we had more clarity on them.
⏲ There is a bullying arc in Kit’s past, but this felt a bit underdeveloped and unconvincing. I can see why it was kept to the periphery of the main plot – it was not related to the current events after all. However, I wish there had been a tad more focus on such an important plot point, especially as it shaped Kit’s current behaviour and is such a common issue faced by teens.

All in all, I find myself highly satisfied with this book. It helps that I enjoy literary fiction because you need a similar kind of mood to read this character-oriented, issue-based, slowburn novel. I continue to be a fan of this author and her beautiful writing and imaginative plotlines. Anything Liz Hyder writes is definitely entering my TBR. Even if it is meant for YAs. 😜
Much recommended! I don’t know how this book will work for a majority of young adults, especially those who devour mainstream YA novels and love to live in the moment. But to those young readers who aren’t afraid to try something offbeat and who are as focussed on the future as they are on the present, I strongly advocate this book.

4 stars.

My thanks to Pushkin Press for providing the DRC of “The Twelve” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

A temporal fantasy with a message about humanity's impact on the planet.

I requested this book as it seemed to be similar to others I have enjoyed. For example, I have seen it compared to The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. Unfortunately, whilst there are similar plot elements I didn't enjoy this book as much. The writing style wasn't for me: too heavy on italics and the dialogue seemed off somehow, not realistic. The characters weren't developed enough for me to really care for them and the atmosphere wasn't strong enough for me to feel caught up in the events. There were some brief mentions of things that made me wonder if they were originally going to be important in an earlier draft but they never ended up being developed. One of the subplots that was developed felt a bit pointless, especially as it wasn't resolved at the end of the book. Another seemed to come from nowhere, which was a shame as it would have made the ending much more impactful.

I did like that the story mentioned quite a few things that a reader might choose to go on and learn more about such as the astronaut, hagstones, and Norse words. Usually I am in favour of shorter book as they appeal to more of my students. However, in this case, I get the feeling I would have enjoyed an earlier draft of this book which was long enough to go into the detail I needed to really appreciate the story.

4 Stars
One Liner: Bittersweet and touching

1999, Pembrokeshire
Kit and Libby are sisters living with their single mother. When eleven-year-old Libby goes to the white tower to make a wish at midnight on Winter Solstice, her older sister, Kat, follows behind. Kat sees Libby fall into the void and realizes that every trace of her sister has vanished from the earth. Their mother doesn’t even remember Libby’s existence.
Things are changing around her, with strange and untimely events occurring at odd moments. The seasons are messed up, and the world is no longer the same. A frantic Kit meets Story, a young boy and the only one who knows Libby. Together, they travel through time to bring Libby back and save the world. Can they do it?
The story comes in the first-person POV of Kit and in the present tense.

My Thoughts:
Well, what do I say? I love it but also want more from it!
The book is more suitable for young adults and adults due to the high emotional content and the open yet hopeful ending. Kids who like neatly tied-up HEAs will be disappointed. Heck, even I’m a little disappointed that we don’t get more details. Right now, it seems to be a standalone, so can’t say if there will be a sequel. I would love one for sure (though I know this is right the way it is).
Most of the story is dark with bits of hope and courage. While it has many heartwarming moments, this is not a lighthearted read with chuckles and laughs. It’s an introspective book that demands readers to think and feel.
Family (real and found), friendship, bonding, bullying, courage, choices, and love are some themes dealt with here. Nature is the biggest theme and the focal point, though it doesn’t feel that way until much later.
I wish we had more backstory about Kit’s family. Though the story works based on what we have, extra detail can only enhance it.
The writing is beautiful. I love the descriptions and imagery. The friendship between Kit and Story, their emotions, the interactions, self-doubt, support, etc., are relatable and wonderfully done. (there’s a bit of romance but it never controls the plot)
With Kit being a bird lover, we get several names mentioned throughout the book. It’s a good thing I read this on my computer and could google how each bird looked. Such beauties! There are some descriptions but nothing compares with a visual image.
My favorite is the focus on the pagan past and the role of the ancient indigenous people in protecting nature and being one with it. The book also deals a little with how the new religion(s) have built their structures by destroying the sacred sites of our pagan ancestors. So many temples in India have been desecrated and plundered to build mosques and churches over the centuries. After 500 years of fight, we could reclaim one land!
Each chapter starts with an illustration (charcoal I think). It’s a rough presentation of what’s to come. These add a little something to the narrative. Would the book feel different without the illustrations? Maybe a bit less appealing if you ask me.
Not all themes get a proper closure, especially the bullying track. This is my main concern and a reason for rating higher. It’s a serious topic for the target age group. No doubt many would relate to Kit’s feelings. However, the lack of resolution may not give them the required encouragement to handle the situation.

To summarize, The Twelve is a heartwarming and bittersweet story about a teen girl trying to find her little sister while fighting her personal demons and her friendship with a fellow teenager – a young boy with an old soul!
Thank you, NetGalley and Pushkin Press (Chidlren’s), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

I don’t read a lot of books aimed at this age bracket, but this one was fantastic and absolutely suitable for adults as well as middle grade readers.

I loved the blending of fantasy and reality in this novel. We have a good exploration of folklore along with broader magical themes. An awful lot of set up and magic system is packed into quite a short space. We have a teenager who must go on a quest to seek out her sister who becomes lost in a strange event on the winter solstice, all whilst trying to balance her normal life.

This isn’t particularly scary but it has some darker elements. The characters do seem in real peril at times and have to make difficult choices. It’s hard to know who to trust at times and they’ve working off of limited information. There is a menace growing in power as they go through the book and there is a real race against time. This was exciting, magical and a great read!

Oh how I do love a Liz Hyder book. And I love kids/YA books. And fantasy books. So this had everything going for it.

It's so atmospheric and dreamy and surreal. It's fantasy but also adventure, fairy tale, thriller, and slight age-appropriate horror.

I loved the relationship between Kit and Libby. Brothers and sisters don't always have the best relationship, in real life or in stories, they fight, they argue. I imagine most siblings have experienced that king of thing, and it's only when looking back you realise there were good times, and no matter how annoying you found them, you did love them. And that's what I enjoyed in this book. There is clearly this irritating childhood sibling feeling about it, but it also explored that deeper love.

I also loved the friendship between Kit and Story. They're affectionate to each other, hugging and crying, showing their emotions etc. but they never feel uncool or less like boys because of it, and I think it's important for younger male readers to see that.

There are definitely elements of The Chronicles of Narnia about it, and also the Magic Faraway Tree series, but it also has this darkness that often underpins kids stories. It gives magic with an edge.

There are a few illustrations and whilst I didn't get the best view of them in my early digital copy, I think they've got great promise and I did see a sneak peak of the finished article and they really shine.

There is such a clear sense of space Liz has created. From the freshly fallen snow to the stormy clouds, the shadowy trees and the small village. You're really there and it helps add to the atmosphere.

I think it would appeal to children and adults. It's very easy and quick to read, I read it in a couple of hours. It's fun and spooky enough to get kids exciting but with enough story for adults to really enjoy it.

I mean, it is finished and it's concluded very nicely. But I do wonder, possibly, if a sequel or something within the world will appear one day. There's definitely scope.

Atmospheric time-shift fantasy adventure with beautiful descriptive writing and genuinely scary moments. Young teen/older MG only because of a bit of love interest that might repel younger readers (rather than being unsuitable, it’s very chaste). Great addition to the fantasy offering in any Library.

I made it about halfway through this one before I gave up. I never like to give up on books but I just wasn't interested at all.
The concept was interesting, though nothing new. But sometimes you get some really good stories out of it.
In this case...I was just so bored. The characters had little going for them, the story was dragging on. Even though the main event of the sister going missing happens almost right away, halfway through, almost nothing had happened to start finding her, other than talking a lot about needing to find her.
I decided that I just wasn't interested and decided not to waste any more time.

It was such a wonderful read that I decided to start it before bed, which was a mistake because I just couldn't put it down and now it is 3 a.m., this is how much I enjoyed it. I really like this kind of YA, not the overly complicated ones that seem to be all over the market in recent years. The way it read to me was like watching a Netflix limited series in my head. I loved the pacing as well. There were explanations about things that I felt were not needed, but apart from that, nothing felt prolonged or rushed.




------ Spolers -----
Adventure, some folklore and magic, a bit of YA live, and a pinch of romance make a recipe a pretty good book. I was pleasantly surprised by the 'romance' between Kit and Story because I didn't feel like it was forced down my throat, and although it has important impacts, it doesn't overtake the story. I am really not into romancy and romance in general, and sadly (for me) mist YA books have it quite predominantly.
The end also felt great to me, at one point I qas afrait that the 11 will do something, and Story will become one of them, but at the same time still get to be a boy and be with Kit, so I was thrilled when that didn't happen.

A fun and interesting YA novel for younger teens. Certainly one to suggest for KS3 to engage more reluctant readers. An interesting plot and great characters.

This was cute, adventurous and cosy and would appeal to young or old readers who like good old fashioned kids adventure books. Well written with good characters and plot this was a lot of fun