These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Katherine Rundell - Author
A sweeping fantasy adventure centred on two young people, a hidden magical world and the struggle to preserve disappearing magic. Expect imaginative creatures, perilous quests and emotionally significant losses alongside companionship, ingenuity and moral responsibility.
threatened worldresponsibilitygreedprotectioncourageteamworkfriendshipasking for helpdeathsacrificeinnocenceloyalty
Fiction
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Themes in Context
Protecting a threatened world
The magical world and the human world are threatened as someone seeks to use cosmic forces for greedy ends; the protagonists work to stop the destruction.Strongly criticalStrongly critical: the book clearly condemns this theme.Strongly critical: the book clearly condemns this theme.
How the book presents it: Greedy exploitation is presented as a threat, while protecting the world is treated as important and worthwhile.
Talk about: What makes the characters decide that protecting the wider world is worth personal danger?
Courage, help and shared responsibility
Mal and Christopher face dangerous tasks with companions, using courage, cleverness, teamwork and mutual help to respond to threats.FavourableFavourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.Favourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.
How the book presents it: The book presents this favourably.
Talk about: When does accepting help make the protagonists more capable, and when might courage require caution?
Loss and sacrifice
The young protagonists encounter murder, violent deaths and heroic sacrifice while taking on responsibilities that affect their worlds.MixedMixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.Mixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.
How the book presents it: Sacrifice is presented as painful but sometimes connected with loyalty and protection; the emotional consequences remain important to discuss.
Talk about: If a character gives something up for others, how does the story distinguish meaningful responsibility from needless danger?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may appeal to readers who enjoy richly imagined worlds, mythical beings and high-stakes journeys. Its central ideas present courage, teamwork, love and asking for help as ways of responding to danger and protecting what matters.
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What Deserves Attention
Consider whether the reader is comfortable with sustained peril and character deaths before beginning. The story also includes a frequently drunk adult, bar scenes, mild swearing and brief adult romantic feeling.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How do Mal and Christopher respond when bravery, loyalty and protecting others involve personal cost? You might also discuss whether sacrifice changes how they understand responsibility and what makes a world worth protecting.
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Reading Approach
If intense fantasy is a concern, read the opening together and pause around the murder, monster attacks or deaths. Afterwards, invite the reader to explain which losses felt important and how the characters coped.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Protecting a threatened world: The extracts do not establish every cause of the magical decline or how the conflict is finally resolved.
Courage, help and shared responsibility: The extracts describe the values clearly but do not provide enough detail to assess every character’s choices or consequences.
Loss and sacrifice: The ending and the full treatment of individual deaths are not established by the extracts.
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