Tourmaline and the Island of Elsewhere

Tourmaline lives a the university where her mother works. Her mother is often away collecting artefacts and when she disappears on one such trip, the adults around her refuse to tell Tourmaline where her mother had gone. Tourmaline therefore decides that she must find her mother herself and sets off with her best friend, George, and new arrival Mai in tow.
Tourmaline is quick in decision making, which means her choices are not always the best. As the story progresses, Tourmaline finds she needs her friends, George and Mai to keep her grounded as they search for Tourmaline's mother and try to outwit the adults trying to stop them. This is a wonderfully imaginative adventure with some larger than life characters and magical elements thrown in for good measure.
I found it hard to put down and thoroughly enjoyed going along with Tourmaline for the ride!
I would love to meet her again in a future story.

What a great book! I loved the whole thing! The characters are fantastic, each believeable and flawed. The storyline is really engaging and exciting, with lots to discover about the world and the characters. I finished this book desperately hoping there will be more in the series, because I enjoyed reading about the characters and world so much.

Tourmaline lives in the university where her mother works, along with her best friend George (son of the Dean) and a new girl, Mai, whose mother recently joined the faculty. Tourmaline is a bit of a troublemaker, she doesn't mean to be, but she loves exploring and that often gets her into trouble. George is a stickler for the rules, but an incredible friend who would do anything if it meant helping Tourmaline (and later Mai) out. Mai is an outsider, she's new and isn't sure if she fits in with Tourmaline and George yet, and they aren't sure about her either. But they all end up swept off on an adventure to find the Island of Elsewhere, where Tourmaline is sure her missing mother is trapped.
they travel with some fantastic female pirates and meet a mysterious man who seems to want to cause a lot of trouble. they discover that there is real magic in the world, and not everyone wants to use it responsibly.

Like i said, I really enjoyed this book. it was a great adventure story, relitively fast paced, so i never felt like it was dragging on at any point. highly recommended!

A brand new series from Ruth Lauren perfect for middle-grade readers. The book launches straight into the story as Tourmaline overhears a conversation and discovers her mother has gone missing. Upon realising no-one at Pellavere university will attempt to find her, she decides she must rescue her mother herself, and together with her best friend George and a new friend Mai, they set off on an adventure.
And what an adventure! The eery Living Archives, 'borrowing' a motorbike, a crew of fierce female pirates, a floating island, talking trees and missing memories - all these add up to make a fantastical adventure that I know young readers (8-12) would love. Lots of themes of friendship and the importance of facing your fears, being brave and so on. Highly recommend for this age group.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

Myself and my 8 year old are always on the lookout for new books that we can read together so I decided to start requesting some new titles via @netgalley and was delighted to get receive this new book from Ruth Lauren called Tourmaline and the Island and the Island of Elsewhere which is the first in a new series from her.

Tourmaline is a young student in Pellavere University who uncovers that her archeologist mother Persephone Grey has gone missing on an expedition looking for magical artifacts and no one is looking for her! She decides to take matters into her own hand and go rescue her with best friend George and maybe, friend Mai and her side.

What ensues is a fantastical adventure involving female pirates - Captain Violet and her crew, missing islands, talking trees, magical artifacts and enormous spiders! Well, to say we couldn't put it down at night would be an understatement, the story absolutely captured her imagination. Every evening she begged for another chapter of this fantastical adventure with such great characters, timid George is my favourite 💞

Perfect for middle-year children (8-12 year olds) who love fun fantasy adventure stories with strong female lead characters. The book finished on the perfect note leaving us wanting more when the next book gets published.

I'll definitely be getting a physical copy of this when it comes out so we can read it again. Huge thanks to @littletigerbooks and @netgalley who gave me an ARC in return for an honest review. It is published March 2nd

As 2022 draws to a close, for many of us in the children’s book reading community thoughts of new titles are very much focussed on 2023. My list of must-haves for next year is already racing away with me but this is a title which might have escaped me were it not for a couple of friends on Twitter recommending it. Expected in the spring, this is the first in a brand new series, packed with adventure and magic, which will captivate young readers and leave them desperate for more.

It is with shades of the Philip Pullman classic Northern Lights that we first meet Tourmaline, sneaking through the hidden spaces of the space-between within Pellavere University as she tracks down Professor Aladeus with the sole intention of spying on him. Reaching her intended destination, she crouches uncomfortably within the confines of a magician’s disappearing box and listens in as the academic speaks with his colleague, Professor Sharma. Having missed the start of the conversation, Tourmaline wonders who they are discussing – someone who has evidently gone missing and after whom Aladeus is reluctant to send a rescue party.

Discovering that the missing person is in fact her mother Persephone, who has been away on an archaeological dig, Tourmaline is unimpressed with Aladeus’s plans for her and rushes back to where she should have been to await his breaking the news to her. Taking Tourmaline to Professor Sharma’s office, Aladeus tells her that her mother is missing and reassures her that the university is doing its utmost to track her down, not knowing that Tourmaline is only too aware of the truth of the situation. Telling best friend George what she has learned, Tourmaline vows to make the university find Persephone and listens as he suggests that they speak to his mother, who is dean, not realising that George’s friend Mai – for whom she has a deep dislike – is in the room and has overheard everything.

When it becomes clear that the dean is not prepared to do anything to help, Tourmaline takes matters into her own hands and decides that she will take charge of the rescue herself. Together with George and Mai, she breaks into her mother’s lab to look for clues and is shocked to discover that someone has clearly been there before her but finds a note referring to the Living Archives. After visiting them, Tourmaline sets out to track down her mother and together with George, finds herself hiding on board what she believes to be a passenger ship. But the ship is anything but what it first appears to be and when it sets sail before Tourmaline and George can leave they find themselves at the start of an incredible adventure…

Although anyone who has read Northern Lights will be instantly reminded of the start of that story when they pick this up, this is a brand new adventure and one where the world of Lyra will soon become a distant memory. Yes, there are some similarities between Lyra and Tourmaline but Tourmaline’s focus on finding her mother is what draws her into her adventure, rather than the series of events that lead Lyra to hers. Bold, brave and determined not to let her age or inexperience hold her back, Tourmaline is a brilliant protagonist who will delight readers as they follow her exploits.

Perfect for Year 4 readers – either as a shared read or to be savoured solo under the bedclothes after hours – the book finishes on the type of cliffhanger that ties everything up in the story that you need to be tied up yet dangles the carrot of further excitement to come and I for one cannot wait to see what comes next. Publishing 2nd March, Tourmaline and the Island of Elsewhere is definitely one to pre-order as a gift to your future self. My enormous thanks go to publisher Little Tiger and to Net Galley for my virtual advance read.