Fantastical and magical. This book gripped me by the heart and wouldn't let go. Adorable characters and an enthralling storyline. Absolutely wonderful from beginning to end.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster Children's UK for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Into Goblyn Wood’ by Anna Kemp.

This is the start of a new Middle Grade fantasy series. Tales set in magical woods always draw my attention, especially if accompanied by folkloric elements.

Eleven-year-old Hazel Quince has always known that she is different. She has lived at Ditchmoor Home for the Wretched since her mother left her there when she was two. It’s a Dickensian style orphanage run by the cruel Miss Fitch and her wardens.

Hazel and her best friend Pete enter the Goblyn Wood hoping to find the Wild Children, rumoured to be runaways from Ditchmoor who have found sanctuary there. Then Pete is kidnapped by a band of strange creatures. In order to save him Hazel has to venture into the heart of the Goblyn Wood, rumoured to be inhabited by fairies. What she discovers there will answer many questions though pose many more.

Hazel was a delightful protagonist who quickly won my heart. Anna Kemp integrates traditional faerie folk lore into her story as well as her own ideas about their origins and natures.

Overall, I found ‘Into Goblyn Wood’ an enchanting tale of fun and adventure. The text is accompanied by whimsical illustrations by David Wyatt.

It is the kind of fantasy that is bound to appeal to the young at heart, no matter their physical age. It does end rather abruptly, though I will be looking forward to seeing what further adventures there will be for Hazel and friends.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I really enjoyed this book. It gripped me from the start, and wove an interesting story full of components that seemed just random at first, but all came together in the end.
The book, of course, ends on a cliffhanger. But this just made me excited to read the next in the series!
at first, i was sure this would be a one off book, as it felt like the story was pretty enclosed. But towards the end i realised that there were some little things I'd not taken notice of that were important, and because very important towards the end, leading to the next book in the series.
I liked the characters, especially Portuna and the wizard Perig. They were full of life and very fun to read about.
the story was lively and had some lovely upbeat moments, without taking away from the seriousness of the main story.

So invested in Hazel's story...please please tell me there's a second book on the way. It ends on a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers!
#RfP
@simonkids_UK @NetGalley_UK

I really loved this book. It was a quick, easy and fun read that helped to break up two very intense books that I was reading st the time. Would definitely recommend.

Hazel and her only friend, Pete, have dreams of escaping the abysmal orphanage and having adventures together. But dreams can be burst in the worst ways, especially when Pete is kidnapped and Hazel lands in the middle of Goblyn Wood trying to work who is friend or foe and why she has a strange connection to this land of magic.

I love a story that you can really get absorbed in and Hazel’s exploits had me hooked right from the beginning and it really was hard to drag myself away from the vivid descriptions of the woods and the marvellous creatures. I found the hierarchy of the fairies curious and liked the idea of the different factions in the woods. A rebellion is always good for giving characters more layers, and I look forward to seeing where this goes in further stories. Hazel is my kind of main female character, courageous, curious and kind.

There's magic in these woods and within each chapter!

It was really enjoyable, and the only drawback is that I will probably have to wait way too long to know what will happen next!

I have been in such a middle-grade mood and was so excited to pick this one up.

It was very atmospheric, in the sense that I really felt that I was venturing into the Goblyn Wood as Hazel does. The characters were engaging and I really did like seeing Hazel face her fears and go on a journey to learn more about herself. The pace was good, and the ending did not feel too rushed as some middle-grade books do in an attempt for fast resolution. This was a great fantasy story.

The only small criticism I have is that I could tell that it was not going to be standalone towards the latter end of the book, which can sometimes feel like we never quite finish with the book as we are looking ahead.

Overall, a great read and I think people are going to devour it! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This book builds. It builds a world and a web of characters that I didn’t expect. It builds tension and intrigue. It’s tricky to talk about without spoiling it, so read it. It’ll be worth it!

I really enjoyed this book and I couldn't believe it was a middle grade book it was so good. The writing, character development and world building was incredible. A great book

I sit with a book hangover upon finishing Into Goblyn Wood. The air around me is still as I try to come to terms with the fact that I’m not actually tiptoeing through Goblyn Wood with the protagonist, Hazel.

Anna Kemp’s world building is sublime and Into Goblyn Wood rivals even the best of debut novels I’ve read. The story follows the lead character, Hazel, on a journey of self discovery, forcing her to face her deepest fears. It’s unpredictable, perfectly paced and totally gripping.

I adored each and every word and was utterly enthralled by the characters, the plot and the setting. This is a truly brilliant book - fantasy at its finest. I could not put it down and cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

Into Goblyn Wood will be loved by fans of Podkin One Ear, Harry Potter and Nevermoor. I have no doubt that Year 5 and 6 readers will devour it and adore it every bit as much as I did. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and bravo Anna Kemp!

Meet Hazel. For the last nine of her eleven years she has been stuck as a foundling in a horrid, Victorian institution, generally peeling vegetables or acting as a servant. She'd arrived at the place at the same time as Pete, and they're inseparably good friends now, until a chance for them both to escape, and enter the outside world, does not go to plan. There had always been the idea of a life idyllic in the nearby forests, Goblyn Wood, and a tribe of Wild Children, but none of that comes to pass, as Hazel finds herself in the care of a professor at the Natural History Museum. But life with him is not anything like what she might have expected it to be – and Hazel is determined to return to the Woods, restore her friendship with Pete – and to work out just what is going on in the forest, both the light and the shade, and the deathly dark...

This at its best was a joy. From the off, the first very brief chapter hints at the mythology of the piece, and therefore the background of Hazel, but none of this is forced upon us. Yes, she has a magical pendant that is impossible to remove, and that grows as she does, and yes she sees mysterious things, but she is the most suitable and suitably humanised character to let us see unusual fairy lore here. And it certainly struck me as unusual – I'd never read that derivation for them at all.

What's more, as with all the best writing, the character is brought to us through action. Dialogue is kept to a sprightly level, but the setting for the story switches copious times, forever keeping the characters and us on our toes, and forever letting us learn more about this world.

And I think that might point to an issue with this, as opposed to a flaw. (The biggest flaw is how it has to gloss over characters being naive, such as with the return of the cat we saw coming a mile off.) No, to me the issue was that I could see too much world-building going on, to the extent that about the halfway mark, if that, I knew this would be entirely unresolved, and would leave us hanging for the follow-on book (it was ever going to be a trilogy, in fact). The end as we have it has some surprises, for sure, but is almost too subdued in the way it just fades to grey.

And I'm always a touch anxious about rating books that completely remove any pretence of being a stand-alone. I have to throw in the caveat that this has all the pointers towards the three volumes being four stars, each and in total, if not more. That said, I have knowledge of some of the author's previous picture books, and nobody throws one of the greatest straight fantasy illustrators for the young at a trilogy like this if there were signs of it turning pants. But as with stocks and shares, past performance does not mean a hill of beans is worth anything in the morning, and it's with a slight bit of caution that I say this journey is worth jumping on board for, at this early optimistic stage. It certainly is a journey.