Thank you to NetGalley for the change to read The Girl in Wooden Armour by Conrad Mason!

The Girl in Wooden Armour was a really fun story, and I read this one along with a couple of my students out loud. They loved the magic and the sense of family. It was a really fun read for both myself and my students!

The book itself did a really good job of being fun for all readers. My classes consist of many different ages and everyone involved in listening to The Girl in Wooden Armour had a good time. The book was fun, dark, and sometimes scary and we loved that about it.

The students loved Hattie, and one of my students has put the book on their birthday wishlist!

A dark and scary book for a young reader, but one they will love to read if they like this genre. It has a few places where I would like to have seen more ( The fact the brother was so into monsters and magic through his card games, I was waiting for this to help and what is Dad”s girlfriend s secret) but in others I was immersed in the world and wanted to see how Hattie would react.

I really enjoyed this book.
Granny just disappears without a trace but Hattie hasn’t seen her for a long time so why now?
Hattie realises that not everything is as it seems and fears that something is about to be unleashed.

When you start the book, the overall foundation is all too familiar. Hattie lives with her father and her little brother in London, alone, after her mother had died years ago. Dead parent trope, check. Throw a missing relative and some magic in the mix and you have a rather basic Middlegrade book.

BUT! And it’s big but – while all this might seem familiar, the clothes this basic foundation is dressed in, is beautiful and different and I loved it.

What I noticed first about this book, is its wonderful gloomy atmosphere. It’s not enough to really scare you but it’s enough to make you uneasy. Rainy, muddy and dirty, forgotten, rotten, dark and damp are words that come to mind. It’s not so much of an adventure as a horror story with monsters creeping and a haunting gloom over everything.
Come to think of it, it does not have the air of a ghoststory: this book really depends on the creeping feeling you get, of your fear of the dark and good old-fashioned body-horror. I loved it. Give me real terror over jump scares every day.
Now, that I have finished this book for some time, I have to say that the atmosphere is what stayed the most with me.

The main character, Hattie, was very likable. She obviously loved the father and brother and also her grandmother who she had not seen in a while. When it turns out that her grandmother is missing, she is the driving force, the main person to worry about her. Her worries and willingness to break some rules for her grandmother, even though she was usually more inclined to follow them, made her very likable. I was happy with Hattie’s characterisation in general, her quietness and thoughtfulness. She was not boastfull or brash like others and I quite enjoyed that.

The story itself has many twists and turns and a lot of monsters and hopelessness. It seemed rather real to me, for a fantasy book, especially because Hattie was so scared and more likely to give in to threats, because really, it’s how a normal person would have reacted. With running. With being terrified. With giving the bad guys whatever they want because you would never risk the safty of your loved-ones. There is so much darkness and ruthlessness in this book, a quiet violence that I enjoyed because it was not flashy or over the top.

There is something I was absolutely not happy with and that was Hattie’s Dad. While it’s later explained why he acted how he acted, it is often stated that, after her mother died, he asked of Hattie to be sensible and not make any fuss for her brother’s sake. Be sensible. Be the bigger person. Be careful and don’t do anything rash. Basically, don’t have any negative emotions.
MAN, that’s how covert narcicists are made! By making children surpressing their emotions. It’s just much too much pressure to put on a young childs shoulders and I HATED it. I was almost hoping that Hattie’s dad would be eaten or something. It pissed me off so much.

In the end, I loved this book because of its atmosphere and its difference to other books of this genre. It’s dark, it’s gritty, it felt real, even with all the magic in it. It had a likable heroine, who loves her small family, and who was oh, so relatable. In between all the danger and the magic were also some very real family troubles and it fit rather well in there. I really quite enjoyed this book and will gladly read any other books the author will publish.

The Girl In Wooden Armour is a dramatic fantasy story about family, magic, and discovering the truth. I enjoyed Conrad Mason's writing and the worldbuilding that arose as I read. The book is the right amount of dark and twisted for a child who wants to enjoy some dark fantasy without it becoming too overwhelming. A good story, definitely worth a read!

This was a wirlwind of adventure, plot twists and magic. I loved the adventureous storyline, the viberant charachters and the imagineative magic and especially the idea of the unforest where the demons live. I felt that i started to lose interest near the end because i didnt really understand much of what was happening but overall this book was simply amazing.✰✰✰✰✰

I really enjoyed Conrad Mason's imaginative and funny Tales of Fayt series. I also found this one appealing for the same reasons, and I'm very much looking forward to see what he comes up with next.

This was a great book. It had many plot twists and definitely red riding hood vibes. I think children would enjoy it if they like adventure books

It's been years since Hattie's seen her Granny, a strange old woman who's idea of a great gift is a stick from a tree, so she's a little surprised when Dad takes her and Jonathan to visit. When they get to her home, the doors ajar, the house a mess, and there's no sign of Granny. While looking around, Hattie finds a secret room filled with strange items and sees a rock monster escape out into the night. As Dad goes to the authorities to help find the missing woman, Hattie decides to do her own investigation that opens her eyes to a world of danger and magic that comes from a hidden realm called the Un Forest. With frightful creatures stalking those around her, can Hattie manage to save the world from untold evil?

The Girl in the Wooden Armour is a frightfully woven adventure that should keep readers on the edge of their seats. From the first chapter, the tone is set that things aren't quite right and nothing is as it first appears. Full of intrigue, plot twists, and a prefect mix of fantasy and horror, this novel does not disappoint. The characters are fantastic, filled with mysteries and quirk that draw you in. Hattie is a great main character, headstrong, brave, and bright as she tries to put the puzzle together, Overall, it's an engaging atmospheric read.

With vivid and haunting descriptions, I would not recommend this for a child who frightens easily. The danger and general sense of unease should delight. those who enjoy a good scare. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy to review.

The Girl in Wooden Armour is a fun adventure that is filled with family and magic. It did some things Really well, and others not so great.

The atmosphere in this book is just superb. The darkness of the Un Forest and its monsters came through so well. Even though this is a book for younger readers, it definitely didn’t shy away from the scary and violent bits and I loved that about this so much. I also feel that Hattie’s feelings of lonliness and anger towards her father after the death of her mother were portrayed really well.

Hattie was a wonderfully headstrong and brave main character, who is the perfect mix between sensible and stubborn hands-on. And granny was Awesome. She is weird and quirky, and just a lot of feisty fun. The villain was a bit too much pure evil, but she was also lovely creepy.

But I also had some issues with this book. It did get quite infodumpy at times, which made the reading experience jarring at times. But my main issue is with the ending. Although I appreciate father’s new girlfriend stepping up and saving the kids, I would have liked father to have played a bigger role in it. He did have his moment with Hattie at the very end, but I feel they could have had a bit more. I also think a great opportunity was missed with Jonathan and his card game. His knowledge and obsession with magical creatures never really added anything to the story itself.

And then the girlfriend has a secret that conveniently helps them all get out of trouble… a secret that isn’t revealed. It was just an easy way not to have to deal with the consequences and left me wholy unsatisfied.

Overall, this was a really entertaining read… with some missed opportunities. But I can definitely see it’s target audience enjoy this a whole lot. Or any other reader, if they don’t think about things too much.

The Girl in Wooden Armour has a unique and fresh feel to it. It’s a deliciously dark tale steeped in folklore and is a interest-piquing introduction to the horror genre for MG readers.

When Hattie’s granny goes missing, she finds herself standing against an ancient evil that she didn’t even know existed. Caught up in a world she doesn’t understand, will Hattie have the strength to fight for her family?

My class were sent a pre-release copy of The Girl in Wooden Armour and the children raved about it so much, I felt I simply must read it. After reading the ARC on NetGalley, I can now understand their enthusiasm! The book packs a punch from beginning to end: the opening chapter sets the pace and tone for the rest of the story, which is brimming with unexpected twists. The vivid descriptions are truly haunting and the setting feels suitably creepy. The Girl in Wooden Armour almost has the feel of an ancient tale, passed down through the generations by word of mouth.

It’s a worthy addition to any classroom bookshelf, but may not be suitable for any children who are more easily frightened! I would recommend it for Year 6+.