This is definitely one which delivers if you have a good knowledge of the Narnia books (I knew we were getting a Silver Chair inspired book from the opening sentence). There are some great callbacks, both to the Narnia series and "The Lost Magician". However, I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one in the series? Partly because I don't think I ended up caring about Jewel as much, partly because I felt like the book skewed too heavily towards "technology is bad" in its themes, though I think the author was trying to go more neutral. I honestly would have enjoyed more of the original quartet of readers instead, I think. All the same, a fun read and it's beautifully written.

Narnia fans rejoice! The Frozen Sea is the sequel to Piers Torday's The Lost Magician but don't panic, With interweaved links no reader is left behind.

This is a beautifully written portal story about a girl called Jewel and her offensive and extremly sarcastic rodent, who find themselves thrown into a a magical debate between the reads and unreads. Can Jewel overcome the darkness lurking in the shadows?

If you can imagine it, it exists..... Somewhere. A stunning book reminding all about the true brilliance of books and resonating well with links to today's grapple with modern technology. A must read for all!

Ever since I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a child I loved the idea of another land waiting to be discovered. To have such a land ruled by Readers...combining the two best things...a recipe for a great story.
Even not having read book one, this makes sense and captures the imagination perfectly.
Jewel is often singled out for being different to her peers. When we first see her being chased out of school by those bullying her, we know just how desperate she is to find her place in the world. Stumbling into a mysterious bookshop, Jewel finds herself reading an unusual atlas - one that seems to bring the world around her to life. Before we know it, Jewel and her hamster Fizz have been transported to Folio and are assigned a mysterious quest.
The links to book one are explained clearly, which keeps new readers up to date. One of the original four has found their way back to the world of Folio and set in motion a chain of events with potentially dire consequences. Jewel is charged with helping rescue her aunt Evie.
So begins a series of adventures and Jewel’s knowledge of stories stands her in good stead to navigate this scenario. Naturally, we learn some not wholly unexpected news and Jewel learns plenty about herself.
Framing the story of Jewel’s adventure are the mysterious excerpts from official documents suggesting there’s more to come in this story.
Great fun, capturing perfectly the power of imagination. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this prior to publication in exchange for my thoughts.

A wonderfully woven tale of the importance of imagination, the power of stories but also the dangers of technology. Heads down, focused on glowing technology on our wrists and in our hands. Not looking up to see the sunrise, to notice the world around you or the time to just be.

A continuation of The Lost Magician, we catch up with Patricia and Evelyn through the eyes of Jewel, an adopted Hasting. Books surround her at home with Patricia, and she has an unnerving ability to know facts instantaneously, almost robotic like. This causes her unpopularity at school and on one particular day, she finds shelter in a book store.

An atlas catches her attention in a surprising way and she finds herself in a jungle face to face with Tom Thumb.
And so begins Jewel’s journey into Folio, the worlds of The reads and the unreads, robots and Empress Evie, Who is promptly kidnapped by the Green Knight riding a dragon.

Braver in Folio than in real life, Jewel,pledges her resolve to find Evie and bring her home to Patricia. Accompanied by Fizz, her talking and rude hamster and Pandora, her helpful robotic assistant, she must travel to The Frozen Sea.

It won’t be easy and there are untold dangers along the way, but Jewel proves her perseverance, kindness and courage throughout and we come to admire her and will her on even when it looks like she is defeated.

A rousing story, adventurous to the extreme and a brilliant second in series!

This is a delightfully enjoyable return to the Kingdom of Folio which was visited in the first book in this series, The Lost Magician. Forty years after the return of the Hastings siblings from their adventure in Folio, their young relative, Jewel Hastings, enters an old bookshop to escape the bullies who are chasing her.
Once inside, she finds an old atlas which acts as a portal through which she is pulled into the Land of Folio, a world of the imagination. Once there, she meets the Librarian who sets her on a quest to save her adoptive mother’s younger sister, her Aunt Evelyn, who is now the Empress of Folio.
Jewel’s hamster, Fizz, has entered Folio alongside her. By the way, Fizz can now talk, and what a chatterbox he is! He has an acerbic wit, is rude, fierce and loyal – he has the absolute best one-liners in his own inimitable style and, by his own inimitable style, I mean, he is a comic genius! I truly adored him, and want my own Fizz!
The Librarian takes Jewel to begin her quest in the City of the Unreads where she meets her Aunt Evelyn who has introduced the citizens to the Stampstone, a device which connects them all to a vast store of knowledge, but is it also being used for a much more sinister and dangerous purpose? Just as Evelyn is prepared to return to her own world with Jewel, she is kidnapped.
And, so begins a stupendously riveting, exciting and scary adventure to save her Aunt … and to discover some important truths along the way. With her trusted companions Fizz and her robot assistant Pandora, they adventure through the most amazing lands and meet the most wonderful, if sometimes frightening, characters. Met with many challenges along the way, their quest eventually takes them to the Frozen Sea where truths are tantalisingly exposed amidst breath-taking danger.
The world-building is superb, from the Ideas Jungle where ideas grow from light-bulbs in trees, to the Marsh of Monsters where grotesque swamp monsters reside, to the Mountains of Mythia with its gathering of Gods and mythical beasts.
I think Jewel is a wonderful protagonist, a fantastic role model for all so-called nerds who are trying to find the courage and self-belief to stop hiding, apologising and instead be themselves, celebrating their nerdiness. Jewel is clever, logical, perceptive and not easily fazed by the incredulity she is faced with. Above all, she has the courage to face her fears, protect her loved ones and seek the answers to who she is.
I keep trying to be brave, but it’s just so hard.
I loved the use of the Stampstone as a plot device. It alludes to the power of media and technology to control, distort and manipulate information so gaining power and control over its users. Holders of knowledge, through stories and information, hold power and, if someone can control all knowledge, they can exert vast power.
This is a brilliantly immersive and engrossing story, with both charming and formidable characters, perfect for readers of 8+, or anyone who wants to return to that delightful land of imagination so well-remembered from childhood … and perhaps not lost to us yet!
If you can imagine it, it exists …somewhere!