Race to Imagination Island by Mel Taylor-Bessent is an amazing story filled with adventure. Every 80 to 100 years four children are named Protectors of Imagination Island, a magical island where all your thoughts and dreams come to life. Luca gets sucked in after discovering the light stream (portal) and finds himself on the magical Imagination Island. At first he wants to go home, and comes up with a plan to come last in the challenges that face the wannabe Protectors, but before long he's not so sure anymore.

My two children loved the audio story, their only complaint was that the book finished and they now have to wait to find out what happens in book two! There was lots of giggling and it kept them very entertained during the school holidays. The audio story comes highly recommended from my two bookworms.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen to the audio book.

This was brilliant. It was fun, well paced the characters were interesting and the world developed well.

The audio narration was outstanding and really added to the story telling

My local bookseller had been talking this up to me, then I saw that the audio was narrated by my favourite, Joe Jameson, so I had to try it!

This is a fun story about the power of imagination, and I like the way that it tackles different aspects of what is needed, and tries to consider fairness. It does still seem possible for the cocky kids to win though, and I don't want to imagine what a world under their power could be like. I also really like the main character because I don't think I've read a middle grade with severe anxiety rep in it before? I think it was handled pretty well, though there is an element of "just get over it" to it (not explicit in the main of the book, but Luca does have to get on with things despite it all) which maybe held me back form outright loving it.

I will probably be picking up book two, but this isn't a standout for me, just a mid-range. 3.25 stars.

My girls (6 and 9) enjoyed this and were engaged in the story. They liked the characters (except the ones you’re not supposed to like, looking at you, Thiago!) and the premise was a fun one. The twists were pretty good and the story didn’t always go the way you expected, which was nice.
I would say that some of the characters became a bit annoying and two-dimensional as the story went on - even for a middle grade book.
My eldest was also quite annoyed at the “ending” - I think she felt short-changed by the fact that this book was apparently the first leg of the race and not the whole thing, as the reader is definitely led to believe at the start! I totally empathised with her because it frustrated me too.
Overall not a bad book but the way it ended felt a bit disappointing.

This was well narrated and easy to listen to. I was interested in the story and how it would end.. Luca, the protagonist, learns a lot about himself during this adventure, but I was disappointed with the ending as you are left on a cliff hanger and there will clearly be a follow up book - but I want to know how the problem resolves itself now!

Luca's character develops as he has to face his worst fears and spends a lot of the story just wanting to go home. His team feels a little forced, but they have to learn to pull together to try and win a competition. i thought the book cleverly showed how children have to adapt in forced environments and the clashes of their personalities quickly became a strength of the team as they race to win a 'challenge' against 3 other teams. There are some very amusing parts, like the snot monsters and the author shows how we should always challenge ourselves and question what we really need to feel successful.

Children will probably love this title, and I will stock it in our school library, but I feel cheated that it did not have a clear ending.

Sons both listened attentively. Full of imagination and a great start to a series.

Quite an ask, to keep the attention of a 14 AND an 8 year old on car journeys. But I have to admit, they both did tune in completely and want to continue when I stopped the car.

That is down to the fantastic premise of an island where anything is possible though. What young person could resist - where anything you can think of can become so?

The story set-up sends a group of young people to this magical place: 4 children are needed to become the Protectors of the Island, and anyone interested must first race to to the lightstreams to be transported there to enter the next stage of the race.

Globe-wide there's a frenzy to find these portals, and Luca is as far from thrilled as it's possible to be when he accidentally falls into one. Luca is overwhelmed, scared, and lacking self-esteem and confidence after a lifetime of being looked down on, he just wants to go home. He doesn't want to race, he doesn't want to be in a team, he wants to lose so he can go back to safety and normality. But his new teammates don't seem to want to let him, or even think he's not an asset.

Forced to take part in the challenges allongside the other competitors, Luca's team of misfits is trying hard to use their skills and the 'imagines' they are allowed to beat the others to the finish.

Clearly the start of an ongoing series, this was full of fun and adventure, bonkers stuff (Snot Monsters, a rap about poo) and definitely showed my boys that writing can be off-the-wall and be able anything your mind can conjure up.

I found Luca a little grating for most of the audiobook, he's far from your average protagonist in this kind of story, but as expected he does grow as a character and develop into something more nuanced and self-aware.

We'd read the next in the series. Enjoyed the narrator's efforts with multiple child voices, all well conveyed and distinct.

For ages 7-12.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

I really enjoyed this adventurous and action packed story! The audiobook is really easy to listen to with a good narrator; the pace of the story worked really well to listen to!

Four children need to become the protectors of Imagination Island and to do this they must take part in a competition to earn the title. Luca seems completely the wrong person to do this but when he discovers one of the sixteen light streams that you need to find to have a chance of become a Protector, he enters the competition.

It's a great underdog story with Luca lacking confidence (or even the will) to win. Making friends with some of the other competitors though, he realises what his strengths are and even though he doesn't have the skills he thinks he needs, he soon begins to make a contribution.

It's a lovely story, really well paced with lots of action. There are lots of different characters that would appeal to lots of different readers. We enjoyed listening to it a lot!

Brilliant audiobook. So much fun with all kinds of hilariously crazy action, and a wonderful message about bravery, identity and being who you are. I can't wait for the next book on the series.

Perfect for fans of The Land of Roar series.