A story set in two worlds, one in Poland in 1910, the other in a spirit world 40,000 years in the past.

After her mother’s death, Bela is sent to live with her uncle in Siberia. She is disappointed when it is not the home she was hoping for. Her uncle is a strange, cold man and Bela senses that he is not to be trusted. One of the aspects of the story I particularly liked was Bela’s ability to “taste” people’s emotions and feelings. In an attempt to find out the truth about her mother, she is transported to the past, where she meets her sister, Ren-ya, a hunter.

Much of the focus of the book is on the relationship between the two girls, and the way they start to work together. Initially Ren-ya seems to be the stronger of the two, but Bela has other abilities, which become more important as the story progresses.

This is a very enjoyable read, for 10 to 12 year olds. Some of the scientific concepts were a little involved, so whilst a younger reader might enjoy the adventure, they might not appreciate all the detail. I liked the references to female education, particularly at the end of the book. Bela makes me think of the young Marie Curie!
Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

When Bela's mother dies she is summoned back to her Uncle's house in Siberia where she learns that she has been lied to about her parents' deaths. She escapes into a mysterious spirit world and discovers a family that she never knew she had, including a half-sister called Ren-ya. But can she save them and their world from the destructive influence of her Uncle? And will Ren-ya ever accept her as family?

This is a fascinating, if sometimes bewildering concept, involving time travel, cryogenics, a mystical spirit world and an alternative prehistoric civilisation. But at its heart it's a story about finding family, despite the barrier of 40,000 years, and about the bond between sisters. (Although the Frozen-style cover of this book is slightly misleading, this is a lot darker than the Disney tale!)

I thoroughly enjoyed this atmospheric, emotive and imaginative tale. Perfect cosy reading for winter!

The Ice Whisperers by Helenka Stachera is a middle grade fantasy that takes readers back to the Ice Age. The framing narrative is set in pre-revolutionary Russia, and the story then transports readers and characters into a dream-world close to the Ice Age. It centres Bela, who was raised as something of an orphan by extended relatives and never truly felt like she belonged, as she discovers that there is more to her parentage as she ever suspected. There is a lot to this story that is sweet, and I can see many young readers enjoying Bela’s adventures. But it is also not one that stands out enough in terms of writing and characters for me to recommend this over some of the other middle grades I’ve been reading. I think this is an author to watch, even if this particular book isn’t quite a standout success yet.

I still haven’t quite decided whether I enjoyed this book. Maybe the feeling of The Woman in White that followed me as I read the first part unsettled me. In a fairly predictable opening, Bela arrives at the uncle’s house to find everything far from rosy. The servants or assistants behave in a strange way towards her. But as a spunky girl heroine should, she overcomes her fears and starts exploring. By now we’ve learnt enough about her father’s disappearance to suspect what’s happening. Sure enough, Bela manages to get herself back in time to meet her half-sister. I don’t think that’s a spoiler as it’s in the blurb.

The story about how they turn from mutual dislike to sisterhood is reasonably believable, since they tackle many difficult tasks together, with some assistance from spirit world people and birds. It’s well-written, and the story should have peaks of excitement enough to keep a younger reader turning the pages. It didn’t do it for me, though, and whenever I put it down it took me ages to remember to pick it up again. And it was easy to do so–no difficulty remembering the plot, or who was who. Am I expecting too much?

I’ve given it a generous four stars, because I think it deserves more than three, for the world-building and characterisation alone. But there are plenty of four star books I’d prefer.

Ice Whisperers is a story that spans two lives, two times and one great secret.

Bela lives in 1910 Poland. Her father has disappeared and her mother is unwell. Raised by her Great Aunt, she has never been good enough. When she receives news that her mother has died, she is sent to live with her uncle in Siberia. Her journey throws up all sorts of questions. Who can she trust? Why is she there? What happened to her mother and father? Discovering more secrets than answers, she has to take things into her own hands.

40,000 years in the past, Renya lives in the Spirit World. Her life is built around survival and proving her strength to her tribe. Her people are being threatened by the “white-eyes” – warriors who want to destroy them. If they succeed, Renya’s clan will disappear.

A crystal orb, an unusual tattoo on Bela’s hand, and her unique sense of taste might provide the answers and connections she’s looking for. Two sisters born 40,000 years apart, with a common enemy and a common goal. Perhaps they aren’t that different after all.

Ice Whisperers is a story of trust and family. It links us to our ancestors and our hopes and dreams.

This Middle Grade book set in icy Siberia is just the sort of book to read on cosy winter evenings. We have folklore, magic, sisters, brothers, danger - a perfect mix.
When Bela is sent for by her Uncle Viktor after the death of her mother she expects/hopes to find family. She finds secrets and danger. She was sent to live with her Aunt Olga when she was a baby and never knew either of her parents. Her mother stayed with Uncle Viktor as she was ill and her father when he went off on an expedition. However, when she arrives at the house she finds that things were not as she had been led to believe and that actually, her life is in danger and escapes from the house. Her escape - into the spirit world - brings her together with a sister she never knew she had, a sister born 40,000 years previously.
The relationship between the two girls is magical to read about - how they discover the meaning of family and the sacrifices that must sometimes be made because the spirit world is not the world that it once was - danger has arrived and the two girls must defeat it to return it to the place that it once was.
This is an enchanting book, with some gruesome parts that youngsters will probably love. the descriptions, the magic, the characters keep you turning the pages and the illustrations are charming. I'd love to see them for real rather than on a Kindle as I never feel that the digital image allows a reader to experience a drawings real beauty. The ending is sad and hopeful and satisfying all at the same time.
Another success from Netgalley - thank you - I've already picked this out as one to purchase as a Christmas present for my friend's daughter.

This is a really sweet book, a reasonably short book but which packs a lot of drama into it.

It’s a tale of love, sacrifice, but it’s also very exciting with plenty of baddies.

My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review

A beautiful tale of finding who you are and where you belong. The acceptance of others regardless of appearance, race or culture and the general good of humanity to over come evil.

I started this book with anticipation- I am not normally a fan of fantasy/other worlds but there was something about the description that sparked my interest. I was not disappointed- I very quickly found my self absorbed in the lives of Bella and Ren- ya. Desperate to have 5 minutes peace where I could pick up and read on.

The descriptions in the book build such vivid images - there were a few parts I found a little bit graphic for my own Squimishness however I didn’t find them off putting or a reason not to enjoy the book.

I don’t want to spoil the story for others by giving anything away- there were many twists that I did not see coming and I think everyone should be able to experience the same magic that I did when reading.

I felt a very strong message about acceptance of other cultures and races throughout the book. This is a message which I feel is so very important now.

I would recommend this book for age 11+.

What a phenomenal book- one that I am still reeling from. Exciting from the very beginning, readers are plunged head first into the drama and danger of Bela’s world. She has lived with her Great Aunt for 12 years but now, on the death of her mother, is being sent to live in the house in which she perished. Bela has never known her parents and wishes to know more about them. This trip could set those questions free and allow her to feel part of a family.
Her journey to Siberia is one of uncertainty but a level of hope for a greater chance at love and happiness. However, it is worse than she could have imagined and there are plenty of harsh discoveries for Bela to make regarding her parents and her Uncle Viktor.
A totem, a small orb with the power to transport a sleeping human into the spirit world is the cause of much danger and violence in the story. It also has the power to reunite and bring family closer together. Saving herself from her Uncle, Bela enters this world and must truly learn about her mother, the tribe she belonged to and find the truth about her father and Uncle.
Steeped in legend and filled with exciting and dangerous moments, this fast paced book will have readers unable to tear themselves away. Bela, Ren-ya and the tribe are brilliantly written characters, courageous, determined and loyal. They worship the spirits of their ancestors and fear the “white-eye” (men from the future). Viktor is a villain completely ruled by the hunger to rule the spirit world and his hatred for his younger brother.
This is one that will enthral and enchant readers completely!

This book tells the story of two girls Ren-Ya and Bela. One from the spirit world and the other - the living. It see them go on great adventures to learn about their past and present, to understand each other and what they mean to each other. With most of the book set to the backdrop of icy tundras, mountains and caves with wolves, birds of prey, magic and folklore, this tale is exciting and intriguing. The two main characters grow together to solve the challenges they face in order to save the day.

I love the atmosphere of the story and beautiful illustrations. The story was really enchanting and endearing.

Two sisters, born 40,000 years apart, ice age vast wildernesses, and a race to save a hidden world; this book promised so much, but it failed to connect with me unfortunately.

There is plenty to admire about this, the search for place and family, the bond of sisterhood, the danger of the icy world, connection with ancestors and finding your tribe, but I think it just told to much and showed too little. The dialogue felt a bit forced, and, while we found out what each character lacked, we didn't really get to know their characters, or see them grow. Ren-ya rejected her sister at first, but it wasn't Bela who changed her mind, or any of the things they went through, but a vision of her mother, who told her they needed to get along, which meant that their bond didn't feel real or strong.

I think many readers will love the adventure, but I just wasn't really convinced or gripped by it, personally, so it took me a while to read, I liked everything about the premise though.

40,000 years ago in Siberia, a tribe of dark-eyed humans, fearful for survival, enter the spirit world until a time when they can be awoken and resume their lives in the living world. At the beginning of the twentieth century, orphan Bela has been summoned by her uncle to his Siberian castle, for reasons that are secretive and unclear, but have to do with the mother she has no memory of – “a tribeswoman” who earns the disdain and disapproval of the aunt in whose home she has spent most of her life. Her welcome on arrival is not the warmest, but her father’s former assistant allows her to read his notes, and warns her to leave the castle, where she is not safe. She realises she will have to enter the spirit world – only to be rescued from freezing to death by a dark-eyed girl called Ren-ya. The shaman of the tribe realises they share a mother, and will have to work together to save the tribe, but Bela has no experience of how to survive in such an environment and Ren-ya is resentful.
A totally enthralling tale of survival, sibling rivalry, sisterly bonding, treachery and sacrifice set in a beautifully realised, icy world where spirits have a physical presence, this is an exciting and gripping read. I was hooked from the first page.

Original, smart and poignant - Helenka Stachera is an author to watch.

The Ice Whisperers is a really beautiful and atmospheric story that is guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings. I couldn’t put it down and was gripped from the very first page! The premise itself is startlingly original and held up well throughout the book, and I found myself very sad when I realised the book was over. I will certainly be pressing copies of this lovely novel to all my friends who also love Middle Grade! A perfect Christmas present.

My little one and I loved this one a lot. The icy Serbian setting was beautifully written. The story is fast paced and suspenseful and kept us excited to read some chapters together every night. It was super refreshing to read about Poland as its not something we often come across. The folklore woven throughout was a magical touch that worked well in the story.

This is a magical polar fantasy I will definitely be picking up a finished copy of when it releases and an author I will read again.

The story starts immediately gripping your attention as Bela awakes to find herself standing on top of the roof of the house. She remembers a black and white bird tapping at the window and a woman at the foot of her bed. Was it real? How did she get on the roof?
Bela lives in Krakow in 1910, she is 13. She lives with her Great-aunt Olga, who clearly doesn't like her, but why? Her Mum is deranged according to Olga, and lives with her Uncle in a forest in Siberia. Three days after the incident on the roof Bela is told of her mother's death, which Olga says is a blessing. She also learns that her Uncle wants her to go and live with him, Olga can't wait to get rid of her, she is an embarrassment, with her weird manners, sleep walking and the marks on her hand. Olga makes it clear her mother was an illiterate tribeswoman and wasn't a suitable match for her father, a scientist.
Bela has one picture of her parents, taken before her birth but even on here her mother is a blur as she turned away when the photo was taken. She didn't remember either of her parents. Her father had died on an expedition and her mother had sent her to live with her Great-aunt while she was still a baby. On the train to Siberia, Bela has a nightmare. She sees the same woman from the dream in her bedroom, and follows her shouting, when the woman turns she has the most extraordinary eyes, but then disappears.
If Bela thinks Wilder house and her uncle will be better than her Great-aunt she immediately thinks differently when she arrives.
Her father's study hasn't been touched and she gets to learn something about him there. Eva, his secretary who now works for her uncle, shows her his last journal, about finding the body of a woman in the ice. The woman is brought back to Wilder House. She has a special talisman connecting her with her tribe. It is the necklace her Uncle wears around his neck. Bela knows she has to get it.
Here begins Bela's new adventure to a world from years ago where she meets another child, Ren-ya, who has the same marks on her hand - her sister. Bela and Ren-ya, despite the differences brought about by thousands of years apart, have to try to work together to overcome the "white-eyes" that want to dominate and rule the tribespeople known as The Last. How will her mother's prophecy come true? How will The Last continue to live?
This book is full of adventure, the action starts immediately and continues throughout. Bela and Ren-ya are believable and likable characters who want answers and retribution for the death of their mother.

This is a simply wonderful book that I adored. It is a polar fantasy based on Polish stories and follows Bela, who lives with her Aunt. Her father was an explorer and scientist but he goes missing so Bela is on a quest to find out more and to find out more about herself too. Bela is then transported back to the past and it is her story of finding her way home. It has wonderful found family tropes and is beautifully written to highlight Bela's story and the story of Ren, a tribes girl who helps Bela.

There are many complex themes that can be explored by older children (Y6/7) but I found that the story and thread was wonderfully written so younger (Y4/5) children could also get a lot out of the book.

A wonderful story and one that I will be recommending to my class. Thank you.

Bela is thirteen years old and lives with her Aunt Olga in Poland. Her father was an adventurer, an explorer, a scientist and he went missing when Bela was just a child. Bela has a talent. She can taste colours on people and tell how they are feeling. She tastes if they are lying, guilty etc. Sent to live with her Uncle Victor Novak, Bela learns that her future is in trouble if she stays and she goes out and learns about who she truly is.
Ren-ya lives in a special sort of spirit world. She is also thirteen years old and she just complete a year on her own in order to essentially grow up and go back home.
Their stories are entwined and together we see relationships develop and many challenges emerge.
At first I felt I connected more with the story of Bela as she was growing up in a world that was similar to our own, but when we properly meet Ren-ya or little Ren we see the girls learn about emotion and the true understanding of how to be a person and grow as a person.
This is a nice story with sad moments in it and definitely for the late primary school or early secondary school reader as some of the concepts are harder to understand and the story considers what really motivates people and their true personalities.

Bella (7) really enjoyed this book, she was able to read it independently and found it easy to follow and engaging. She would recommend to her friends!

Finding myself yet again browsing Net Galley, despite my ever-increasing pile of traditional paper reads, I was drawn to the beautiful cover of this book – and to the tagline it carries proclaiming this to be the story of two sisters born forty thousand years apart. Curious to find out more, I read the blurb and immediately requested it – waiting patiently for a few days to be approved, and being so just as I finished another title, which I took as a cue to waste no time cracking on with this. And I’m very glad I did, because this is a great read – packed with adventure and excitement, and one with shades of the brilliant The Wild Way Home by Sophie Kirtley.

Unlike Charlie in that read, our protagonist Bela is not the cherished child of loving parents but is someone who has been brought up by her cold great-aunt following the death of her father and descent into madness of her mother, who has since been living under the supervision of Bela’s uncle – Professor Novak. Summoned by her great-aunt for an audience with her lawyer, Bela learns of her mother’s death – something for which she might have anticipated a little sympathy, but none is forthcoming. Not only is she told quite bluntly that her mother has died, but her uncle has sent for her and she is soon put on the train to Siberia to go to live with him.

On arrival at her uncle’s house, Bela meets Eva – a servant of her late father who gives Bela his journal to read but is unable to answer Bela’s questions about her mother, as she had been locked away and hadn’t been seen for some time. When she finally meets her uncle, Bela is horrified by some of the cruel experiments he is running, which he excuses on the grounds of improving scientific understanding – something Bela does not believe.

It soon becomes clear that there are more sinister things going on within the house and with the help of one of the servants, Bela manages to transport herself back in time 40,000 years to a bleak and frozen world in an attempt to investigate. When she is found there by Ren-ya, a girl who saves her life, she is taken to the girl’s village and greeted by the shaman who tells her she has been expecting her and that Ren-ya is her sister. Not all of the tribe are accepting of her though, and when the village is attacked Bela finds herself sent away with Ren-ya to protect a precious artefact. With Ren-ya deeply distrustful of her, and Bela totally reliant on her new companion to guide her, will the two girls be able to accomplish their mission and will Bela be able to find her way safely back home again?

Although Bela’s journey back to the past and the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of Ren-ya‘s people are bound to draw comparison with The Wild Way Home, the books have very different storylines. Where Charlie accidentally travels back in time, Bela chooses very deliberately to go back after making a series of discoveries in her uncle’s house which lead her to believe that she must, in order to solve the mysteries surrounding the deaths of both of her parents. Additionally, although she owes a debt of thanks to Ren-ya for saving her life, it is clear that Ren-ya has no intentions of playing Happy Families with her newfound sister and is in fact hugely resentful that their mother has gone on to have a second child.

For Bela, who has known no real kindness in her life, having her sister reject her is hurtful but she has enough strength of character to put it to one side to focus on the tasks which lie ahead of her. Although almost entirely unprepared for the hardships of the land in which she finds herself, it is her deep-rooted belief in her own abilities and keen sense of right and wrong which enable her to face up to the challenges she comes across.

I’ve said before that, generally speaking, the boys in my class will turn up their noses at books where the front cover features a female protagonist but I’m really hoping that this one with its image of a bow-and-arrow bearing individual will persuade them that this is a great read for them too. Certainly, if I were to use it as a class reader with my Year 5s, I think that they would all very much enjoy it, as would many Year 4 or Year 6 classes. Inventive, packed with details of the tribal beliefs and way of life, this is an absolute corker of an adventure and one that I’m sure will be hugely popular when it is published on October 28th. As always, enormous thanks go to Penguin Random House Publishers and Net Galley for my advance read ahead of that date. A (woolly) mammoth 5 out of 5 stars.

What a fantastically original and exciting story. The concept of time travel and spirit worlds really beings a new dimension to the plot. There are so many twists and turns that you need to keep yours wits about you. I particularly loved the growing relationship between the two girls as they learnt to understand their shared history.