The Girl of Ink and stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave


4 Stars

When I first picked this book up, I had no idea it was a children's book. The cover is gorgeous and so are the pages. I know we should not judge books by their cover, but I am pretty terrible for doing it! A beautiful or catchy name for a book also draws me in. This book is also Children's book of the month at Waterstones and The Times children's book of the week. 

Isabella is forbidden to leave her island, but dreams of travelling to far out islands. Her father, a cartographer (map maker/reader to you and me) has taught Isabella to read and make maps through the reading of the stars and how to mark them on paper through ink. Isabella is good friends with the governors daughter who, since arriving, is the one who brought in the rules about being unable to leave her island or travel to other villages through the forbidden forest. On her first day back to school, she meets with the governors daughter, Lupe, and they walk to school together. Lupe tells Isabella that she sent a girl, Cata into the orchard but has now gone missing. Once they arrive at school, Lupe and Isabella soon find out the missing girl has been murdered. On a journey to prove she is not rotten, Lupe travels to the forbidden forest in search of Cata's murderer. Isabella soon follows suit with the governor and his men in search of Lupe. Will myth finally become truth? Will Lupe be found safe and sound? Will Isabella finally get her wish? 

Now that you want to read this book and its lovely cover, on with the review! When they say that is a children's book, I wonder what age they actually mean this for? I'm not sure I would let me 9 year old cousin read this, but I would probably let my 13 year old brother read it (not that he actually reads!). Despite this, this book in my opinion would be enjoyable for those of all ages. The story has a lovely feel to it and is written in a really nice way. I enjoyed the characters and can see from a character point of view why it may be seen as more of a children's book. If you read the blurb on the actual book, it was definitely not what I was expecting. There is a lot more going on within the storyline, and I was certainly pleasantly surprised that the story ended up being more down my street than originally thought. There were some twists and somewhat surprises throughout and although the ending wasn't exactly exploding, I enjoyed it and it worked for this book. 

Overall, I cannot think of any particular problems with the book, this was a really nice read. Characters and writing style flowed throughout and I would definitely recommend this to anybody who enjoys a good adventure and mythical type books. 

Happy reading :)  

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