Our heroine's investigations are a bit 'Nancy Drew goes to India' at times but overall it's a good read with powerful themes and a strong central character. JF/younger teen crossover

Oh my! What an amazing book! I loved this book and devoured it. It is ideal for key stage 2 children and opens up a huge range of moral and ethical issues.
The main character moves, with her father and grandmother, from her home in Australia to India. This is not a move she wants to make but makes the best of the situation.
It's whilst in India that she finds out that her father's business partners are mixed up in the trade of illegally killing leopards.
This is the 2nd book I have read by Jess Butterworth and I will definitely be looking for others. Excellent!

A little on the young side for the students I teach but I do love the diversity represented within the story.

When the Mountains Roared is the much anticipated second novel from Jess Butterworth after her first book, Running on the Roof of the World ( also featured on our Best Books for Year 6) went down a storm in Key Stage 2 classrooms.

The physical book itself is actually really beautiful both inside and out, with its stunning cover by Rob Biddulph and the leopard-print design of its pages. This is the kind of book that makes you want to stop and admire it, to flick through the pages and to just enjoy holding it. Although I was kindly sent a digital proof by the publisher, I was keen to purchase the book itself too because its design is just so appealing.

The story follows Ruby, a twelve-year-old girl who is grieving the recent death of her mother and has become filled with fear since her mother’s car accident. Ruby is an animal lover and she enjoys photographing wildlife. At the beginning of the story, Ruby faces the devastating news that her Dad is planning to uproot them from their Australian home and relocate to a remote mountain village in India to run a hotel.

Unimpressed when she arrives in her new home, Ruby does manage to find some things to like about the foreign setting. Jess Butterworth’s descriptions of the mountain landscape are beautiful and evocative as nature-lover Ruby takes in the new smells, colours and wildlife of the Himalayan habitat. Although the hotel is quite isolated, Ruby quickly befriends a local shepherd boy called Praveen, who shares Ruby’s admiration of the natural world.

Together, Ruby and Praveen set about to protect the few remaining leopards from the threat of poachers. The story is full of danger and adventure as Ruby undertakes a perilous trek through the mountains and comes face to face with some very hostile poachers, putting aside her own fears in order to save the leopards.

This is an atmospheric and enticing story that explores an important theme about preservation and it will appeal to readers in Years 4-6.

I'm so taken by this amazing book! Set in the Himalayas, it tells the story of Ruby, who has to move suddenly from Australia to the moutains of the Himalayas in India. Her family is going through a challenging time, and have to rebuild their lives while dealing with loss. But Ruby is brave and full of curiosity for the world around her, and with her camera always on her, discovers the wonders of the wildlife and nature that surround her new home. However, something seems off about her father’s new employers and she decides to take matters into her own hands.

This is a beautiful tale of family, love and loss, but also of conservation and the love for our natural surroundings and wildlife that inhabit them. It’s heart warming and wonderfully written, and the perfect adventure story.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jess's novel 'Running on the Roof of the World' so was both excited and nervous to read her follow up novel.  Thankfully 'When the Mountains Roared' was just as good - possibly better.

Ruby is incredibly easy to like; she is brave and fearless - although she doesn't always realise - she is kind and vulnerable, she is naive and flawed. Her grandmother is brilliant, her last action in Australia (which I really want to share but won't!) resulted in her being one of the most memorable characters I ever read.  (I also love that this action is inspired by Jess's grandmother doing the exact same thing).

The writing is lyrical and beautiful and I felt both transported to the himalayas and as though I was right alongside Ruby in her quest to protect the leopards. I felt completely submersed in the India Butterworth created and I tore through the story desperate to find out how it would end.

This was another fantastic MG adventure and one I will definitely be recommending.