"A story of magic, courage, redemption and recovery "
Shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023
Elen Caldecott’s new novel is rooted deep in the folklore of Wales, where she was born and grew up, but reaches beyond that to involve classical and Arthurian legend too.
It’s full of atmosphere and, counter to what you might expect of a story about fairy folk, is rich in real family love and relationships. Cassie is angry with her brother, Byron. She knows he’s deeply affected by the death of Taid, their grandfather, as is their father, but she’s still cross at his selfish behaviour. Together with her cousin Siân, she follows him as he storms out of the house, watching as he meets three other teenage boys. Cassie doesn’t recognise them so the girls follow the group down the old railway tunnel and are shocked to find it leads to Annwn, the Underworld, kingdom of the tylwyth teg or fairies. They manage to drag Byron home but he will have to return unless they can win him back from the fairy leader, Gwenhidw.
As the girls learn more about the tylwyth teg and the creatures around Gwen, the threat of losing Byron forever becomes more real, together with a growing sense of human loss and grief. Their efforts are linked to the need to restore the balance between the human and natural world, and it’s a story of courage, redemption and recovery. Readers are immersed in the story from the very first page, and setting, plot and character are handled with such skill that events chime true from start to finish. A superb fantasy adventure.
Readers will also enjoy Philip Womack’s story Wildlord or Philip Reeve’s Utterly Dark which also pitch humans against the supernatural.
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Cassie's older brother Byron has fallen in with the wrong crowd - it's soon clear these boys are wild, reckless and not human at all. They are tylwyth teg - Fair Folk, who tempt humans down into the dark places of the world. And Byron is tempted.
When he goes missing, Cassie and her cousin, Sian, follow his trail to an old abandoned railway tunnel which goes down and down into Annwn, the underworld. Here they find that the tylwyth teg are restless - and angry. Their leader, Gwenhidw, wants to protect Annwn from the damage humans are doing to the world. Byron is part of her plan. But Cassie won't let her big brother be part of anyone's plan. Can she rescue her brother before it is too late?
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Blackthorn Branch and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
The Blackthorn Branch features in the following genres: Fantasy / Magical, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Stories about Family and Friends, Featured Books for 9+ readers
The Blackthorn Branch is available in Paperback
The Blackthorn Branch was written by Elen Caldecott and published by Andersen Press Ltd
The Blackthorn Branch has 255 pages
£7.19
