Spellstone - Ross Montgomery

 

Twelve year old Evie feels as though she has become invisible: in the street, at school and even at home.  But then she meets Wainwright (a man she remembers was in her dream the previous evening), who explains that he's a magician and promises to explain everything to her.  He hands her a piece of old metal that had been hanging round his neck, tells her it's precious and to take care of it; he also tells her that Alinora will find her and will explain everything to her before he tells her that she's going to be very important and then he's off, chased by men who have gathered close-by.  Confused, Evie heads home but then the cat who had also appeared in her dream arrives at her window and suddenly, everything in Evie's life changes.  She is whisked away from her parents and into a world of magic where a long-running battle is threatening to come to a head and Evie could be the only person who can stop it.  

Ross Montgomery is one of those authors whose books I get very excited about and have done since reading Christmas Dinner of Souls (yes, it was me who had to sleep in a hotel room with the light on after finishing that book!).  His books are ones I can always get lost in; they appeal to so many children (& adults) and will most definitely still be books that are being read many years from now.  So it was with much excitement that I heard that Ross had a new book out.  I tried hard to wait until I could read a physical copy but I'm afraid my willpower waned very quickly and I found myself heading to NetGalley for the digital version.  Grabbing a cuppa and my favourite blanket (does that make me sound incredibly old?!), I curled up against the cold and heading in to meet Evie.

Oh Ross, I'm going to say now that you've absolutely done it again!  Spellstone is an immersive book that entices you in with the lure of strange dreams, magicians, ancient stones and smoke-men, then takes you on a whirlwind of an adventure that you simply can't put down.  It has your gripped and makes you think; it leaves you smiling yet wanting more (please tell me 'this sort-of-but not-quite-a-trilogy' means there will be more), and it definitely leaves you with the very best book hangover!

Evie is the perfect main character: she is struggling to fit in in secondary school, in fact, she feels very much invisible in every walk of her life, so when she comes across Wainwright who promises to explain everything to her, I imagine that there must have been a sense of relief.  What unfolds is something I don't think any twelve-year-old would have envisaged and I can imagine that discovering you have hidden magical powers must be quite an unsettling thing to discover, especially when those powers don't seem to be revealing themselves.  We see a host of different emotions from her and I like that she has doubts on more than one occasion, it certainly made her a very believable character and one that readers will warm to.  Her determination and maturity serve her well as she gets to know the magical organisation into which she has been drawn.  She is brave and kind, even when all seems lost, and she is resilient to the end. 

The Order of the Stone are a group of people I enjoyed getting to know, each unique in their characteristics as well as their quirky magical abilities; they are brave, loyal and will remind readers that it is ok to be yourself and to be different without it being a big issue - Lady Alinora was definitely my favourite!  Val, on the other hand, was somebody I thoroughly enjoyed hating and a true example of what can happen if you crave too much power.    

Set in the modern world, Ross manages to seamlessly combine reality with magic in a world of contrasts in Spellstone: a world above ground and a world hidden beneath us; the hideout to Tower 99; the past and the present, as well as things which are hidden and those that are right in front of us.  The setting will make readers think just as much as the plot will.  

In his acknowledgements, Ross mentions the idea of discovering something different every time you head out, with magic around every corner, and that is very much reflected in the book.  When I venture out tomorrow, heading to work along my usual route, I will most definitely be looking more closely for things that are there that I miss every day and for things I often over-look, for that is where I will find magic... and magic is what Ross has created here with Spellstone: good playing off against evil; seeing the good in those around us and being open to possibilities.  

Released on the 4th May, Spellstone has blown me away and I know it's going to be a huge hit so I urge you to pre-order your copy today.