Crow Folk (Simon & Schuster)

'Swept me straight back to days of losing myself in Diana Wynne Jones novels, and getting lost in truly absorbing, sometimes scary, sometimes emotive adventure with its roots in folklore and history. A story that is full of magic and delight that will thrill readers of any age'-Rowan Coleman, author of The Girl at the Window As Spitfires roar overhead and a dark figure stalks the village of Woodville, a young woman will discover her destiny... Faye Bright always felt a little bit different. And today she's found out why. She's just stumbled across her late mother's diary which includes not only a spiffing recipe for jam roly-poly, but spells, incantations, runes and recitations... A witch's laptop. And Faye has inherited her mother's abilities. Just in time, too. The Crow Folk are coming. Led by the charismatic Pumpkinhead, their strange magic threatens Faye and the villagers. Armed with little more than her mum's words, her trusty bicycle, the grudging help of two bickering old ladies, and some aggressive church bellringing, Faye will find herself on the front lines of a war nobody expected. For fans of Lev Grossman and Terry Pratchett comes this delightful novel of war, mystery and a little bit of magic... Praise for THE CROW FOLK