#berlie doherty

   ‘That sky is just about prickling with stars, Tilly Mint,’ Mrs Hardcastle said. ‘You don’t often see it like that. It’s just the sort of night you can hear the stars sing, if you listen very carefully.’”   

   The specialist thing in the whole world wide

   Is the whistling wind when its blowing wild.

   Spin in a circle, hold your arms high

   And see if the wind will make you fly.”

An easy, light little read... #Spellhorn #BerlieDoherty

Title: Spellhorn Author: Berlie Doherty Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one) My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Magic, Unicorns Dates read: 3rd – 10th June 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Lions Year: 1989 5th sentence, 74th page: She wouldn’t.

Laura looked across the sea and saw with horror that far below her on the shoreline there were beasts: long dark shapes that wriggled and…

Review: The Girl Who Saw Lions by Berlie Doherty.

This is a great story. 

What I really liked from the start how the story is constructed, showing the two perspectives of the girls in the book. Abela and Rosa’s contrasting stories are throughout this book written perfectly, and how the writer threads similar themes through each girl’s story (for example, the starting chapter’s references to shadows) really show just how the characters tie but contrast. 

This book quickly does become a page turner as the story begins to grow, particularly Abela’s story as her life quickly changes in this book. For both characters you see development as Rosa adapts to the idea of having a sister, but also you see Abela finally get the ending she deserves after going through so much. 

A story that covers an array of social issues too through two great characters, The Girl Who Saw Lions is a book that puts an important focus on adoption, trafficking, AIDS and privilege (maybe the last less consciously) that no matter what age you are I think you would gain something from reading it. 

Side note: The artwork for this edition is beautiful!