Somehow I totally missed that this was a middle grade novel, I've always assumed it was an adult novel from the cover, so that was a pleasant surprise. This was an interesting and powerful novel that I enjoyed. There are some brilliantly hilarious scenes in this book.

What a great book! I found it to be so touching and relatable. Brilliant writing. Will be getting for our shelves!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for this book. Although a children's book for ages 11+ I hugely enjoyed reading this lovely, funny and sensitively written story. Warm, relatable and very different from the usual children's books for this age group. I've just ordered a copy for my 12 year old daughter as I think she'll love it.

Although this book is meant for a younger audience but works quite well for someone as old as me! The conversation style is a little choppy, which seemed a bit odd at first, but throughout the book, it turned out to be the main charm of the narration.

Dallas messes up in the very first page of the story, and the embarrassing event is but a dent in the chaos of her life. Her family structure was a little hazy at first until it was slowly explained by just dropping more hints about past events. She has two extremely close friends, both with their own set of troubles. She is eleven and has not stepped into the library since her mother passed away. Then the very library is set to close, and Dallas cannot let go without a fight. This means that she has to go back into the library, rally support for the cause, stay in the loop with her friends as well as deal with the proposition her aunt from the US has brought for her. All of this on top of the grieving process that Dallas has not completely mastered. It was light, there was a lot of banter and serious topics handled in a very subtle manner while others were like as unsubtle as a pizza being thrown on someone's face(actual occurrence). There is no complete resolution at the end of the narrative, just like in life. Some topics have been dealt with appropriately while others have been tabled for future modifications with the newer facts that come in. Dallas is moving to a secondary school and will not be spending as much time with her friends as she is used to, and she has more to learn about herself and life, but with the reliable support system she has, she might just be able to make the transition into her teens quite effectively smooth.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

A good read which unfortunately took a while to grip me. The serious issues were sensitively handled, some with humour and some with knowledge and insight. The characters were treated as individuals with their own ways of coping with life,
The use of humour diluted the seriousness of some issues, but given the probable readers age this worked as an advantage.
Could work as a class read for 10 to 12 age group/

I took a little while to settle into this story, but was then hooked. I wanted to know what would happen to the library and the family. Gradually we discover more about the characters and their background and this draws the reader in. By then end I wanted the protest to work, although I did not expect it to, and I wanted each of the the children to find a happy a peaceful place. A book that tackles lots of tough, but real issues, and well worth reading.

I loved this book, using humour and sensitivity it covers many issues including loss, unconventional families, friendships and standing up for what you believe in. I am looking forward to sharing this with year 6.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Children’s for sending me an ebook review copy through Netgalley of Lost For WirdsWritten by Aoife Walsh.

This story was honestly beautiful, one of the main premises of the story was grief and dealing with loss. I love the way that it was handled and written, showcasing that everyone reacts, feels and grieves differently. I chocked up a couple times reading some of those scenes being in the mind of Dallas and her feelings.

The bigger part of the storyline was following Dallas as she tried to save the local library from being shut down, with help from her friends, teachers, family she becomes an activist thinking up new plans and finding ways of doing all she can to ensure that it doesn’t get shut down.

I really loved that the two main storylines really connected with that her mother was an activist too, so it was really cute that she followed in her own mommas footsteps naturally. She made so many choices throughout the book and seemed to grow and became more mature as the story progressed.

I’m so happy that I got given this book to review the storyline of it was handled so well and it was fun getting to root for the library whilst reading never knowing what they were going to do next.

There were some downsides for me such as the girls being bullies, Aiza being very bratty and then some grammatical errors that bugged me but didn’t ruin the story for me.

Slightly idealised ending aside, this is a warm-hearted, funny & poignant family/friendship drama with lively, likeable characters. Touches on some serious themes but keeps the tone light. A delightfully quirky & enjoyable read.