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• Perfect for any wild children or those still wild at heart

  Beautifully immersive, this middle-grade coming-of-age story is packed full of nature and wildness that will make you want to get outside and explore coast and woodland immediately. I immediately recognised and empathised with main character October’s affinity with nature and wildlife over people and cities (although my experiences have never been quite as all-encompassing as hers!). Her anguish and bitterness at the separation of her parents, her desperate love for her father and Stig, her defiant loneliness – everything is felt so deeply and vividly that I ached along with her throughout reading. The story explores themes of reconciling the past and present, woods and city, and the two very different – but with hidden similarities – sides of October’s personal heritage. It is about family and friendship, change and compromise and the healing powers of both a connection with the natural world and a connection with other humans. Katya Balen’s writing is spell-binding and brings to life not only her characters but the various settings of woodland cabin, city flat and river mudflats so that you roam them along with October and experience her respective comfort, claustrophobia and freedom alongside her. This is a fantastic children’s book, perfect for any wild children or those still wild at heart.

• Beautiful book. Beautiful cover. Amazing.

  Beautiful book. Beautiful cover. Amazing.

• Muy contenta

  El libro es precioso, el estado en el que ha llegado el libro ha sido estupendo. Tiene la letra bien de tamaño y aún no lo he terminado, pero la historia por ahora me está gustando.

• Obnoxious Main Character

  This book is beautifully illustrated, and I liked the author's writing style. However, the main character, who ages from 10 - 12 during the course of the story, regularly throws temper tantrums like a toddler. She's prone to screaming in rage (a word that is frequently used in the story), and she throws/breaks items when she doesn't get her way. I just couldn't bring myself to like her at all. I thought her father was selfish, too, in his decision to raise her as a recluse in the woods, without any opportunities to make friends her own age. He tells her, "you didn't want to go", i.e., leave the woods when she was four, but four-year-olds aren't old enough to make crucial decisions like that. While both characters mature by the end of the book, it's too late, and I didn't like either of them. I liked the writing enough that I'd read another book by this author though.

• A captivating story with some wonderful writing

  October is a young girl thriving in her alternative off-the-grid lifestyle when she’s suddenly plunged into one of the biggest cities in the world and is forced to grapple with the fast-paced and metronomic nature of urban life – as well her own hostility towards her mother, who she holds responsible for this unwelcome change. Her journey from feeling trapped and scared through to her gradual realization that beauty and wonder can be found anywhere (if you look hard enough) is one of the captivating themes of the book. The book explores the challenges faced by the outsider, those who don’t quite fit into a neat box, but how it’s still possible for everyone to find companionship. We also experience the joy of reconciliation, which is something we all yearn for in our broken relationships. There’s some wonderful writing to enjoy, particularly in the tactile and invigorative natural world. Here in this story, we can all find reassurance and comfort, particularly at this time of upheaval, when many of our comforting routines are being replaced by things that feel strange and unsettling. Recommended and applause for Katya Balen, who’s somehow managed to write a wonderful story without putting a single word wrong.

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