An imaginative world and an enthralling story that would work perfectly as a book series !

At first, I felt very much like Benjemiah, the main character who accidentally finds himself thrown into an unknown land with wonderful and peculiar rules. As a reader, you learn alongside him and try to grasp the funtionning of the Weathenworld. Very quickly, you find your bearings and you are ready to face the labyrinthine streets of the magical land.

The story is imaginative, the world-building is fantastic, and the characters are in turn endearing, infuriating, brave and vulnerable. This story would work perfectly as a book series. Hopefully, a sequel is in preperation, as I would definitely want to continue the adventure and return to the Weathenworld!

Many thanks to Puffin Books and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest opinion of the book. Review available on Goodreads and Waterstones.

This book was a surprise, and I absolutely loved reading it.

This had echoes of Northern Lights and Inkheart, and had some very beautiful things to say about relationships and reading.

There were twists and turns that the characters took, both literally and in their relationship, that you had no idea where you would be taken. The concept that colour was taken from the world was really interesting and made me think about how we look at our own world.

I would recommend this to anyone, child or adult alike, and am going to advise my god daughter reads this when it comes out.

This is delicious and anyone will eat it up and love it!

Benjamiah is working in the bookshop with his Grandma worrying about arguments between his mum and dad
A strange doll appears and Benjamiah is whisked into another world, reluctantly helping Elizabella search for Whisperwicks to discover what happened to her missing brother.
A wonderful adventure in a mysterious world.
Really enjoyed this story.

Even though I am not the target audience for this book, I enjoyed it immensely.

Benjamiah and Elizabella are from different worlds but both are dealing with loss. Benjamiah is drawn into Elizabella's world where he joins her quest for her missing brother.

The book was slow to start but then moved along at a nice pace and the world building was interesting.

Thanks to Netgalley for this reader's ARC in exchange for my honest review

Fantastic world building, interesting characters with proper story arcs and a satisfactory denouement. Thoroughly enjoyable! 9/10 Recommended

Benjamiah Creek lives in an apartment above his parents' bookshop, and he loves it. Unfortunately his mum and dad have been arguing for a while and so they've gone away for a few days break while his grandma looks after him and he takes care of the customers. When a strange package arrives at the shop Benjamiah isn't impressed with what he thinks is his mum's choice of holiday gift but he has no idea what trouble the strange little doll is about to get him into.

Wreathenwold is a world devoid of the vibrancy Benjamiah is used to and its people are a strange mix of the reassuringly normal and terrifyingly unusual.  Elizabella Cotton, thankfully, is different, she has a task she has to complete and almost before he realises it her enthusiasm means Benjamiah finds himself travelling alongside her. Every step is fraught with dangers he can't begin to explain but if he can't help Elizabella complete her quest how can he even begin to work out how to get home?

This is the author's first novel and is a serious undertaking which, for the most part, succeeds. Set in a world without technology but with some seriously creepy inhabitants, the main protagonists, especially Benjamiah, Elizabella, and her father, Hansel, work extremely well together and the fantasy elements are also very successful. There is however, for me, way too much information and unnecessary description throughout. It is a long book at 400 pages and could easily do without at least 50 of them. None of the adventure, excitement, or ever increasing tension would be lost if this were to happen. Seemingly a standalone novel, although with some loose ends, it would be interesting to see if the author has any plans for further adventures in Wreathenwold.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Puffin Children's Fiction, but the opinions expressed are my own. While I enjoyed this it would definitely have had more impact had it been a bit shorter. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Benjamiah Creek is worried about his parents, they have been arguing and have gone away on a last ditch effort to sort things out. He is left alone in the family bookshop with his grandmother. Things start to get strange when he receives a doll in the post. He is woken in the middle of the night by a creature that leads him on a strange and magical adventure to another world. This causes difficulties for Benjamiah as he is a logical boy who definitely doesn't believe in magic. He wonders if he will ever find his way home and has to contend with the fierce Elizabella who is determined to find her missing brother. I found this book to be incredibly interesting and clever with many scary bits. I would definitely like to read a sequel.

When you have to read it a second time, because it’s that good. Thanks NetGalley and publishers for the Arc of The whispernicks By Jordan Lees.

This children’s story is magical, funny and pacy and occupied that sweet spot where it’s enjoyable for adults too. It was a pure joy to read.

Benjamiah lives above a bookshop and unlike other eleven year olds he doesn’t like made up stories. Ben’s mum is a scientist, so he knows there’s no such thing as magic. Except when a strange doll is delivered to Benjamiah with no note, nobody believes him when the doll transforms into a monkey and trashes his room. Determined not to let it happen again, Benjamiah follows the capuchin (formally his doll) to the basement and through an impossible door into the impossible land of Wreathenwold. Benjamiah is going to have to start believing in magic if he’s going to get home.

It’ll be a sad day when I stop liking children’s stories, and this is everything a children’s story should be. The writing was pitched just right, not too complicated and never too simplistic. I think it’s enjoyable for a child to read alone, an adult to read with them or an adult to read alone…

The story was really exciting! The world of Wreathenwold and its inhabitants was well constructed but without any painful building process. You got everything you needed to know as the reader and any questions could be answered in further books…? It feels like this could well be the start of something.

The action and the characters remind me of the first Percy Jackson book which I mean as a massive compliment. It’s also a bit spooky and nefarious but not so much that it would terrorise a child and I think this is a really hard balance to strike. I really like the gender role reversal in that Benjamiah is bookish and Elizabella is the impulsive muscle running ahead.

I really can’t fault this. In fact I loved it. If you like adventure - please read. I hope to see more in the series 🙏

Fantasy novel for older children - original and engaging.

Not being in the target audience, I can only assess this novel from my older perspective. It's about a parallel world to our own, but with magic, magical creations and original interesting characters. Our hero, from our world, finds himself in this alternative world involved in a search for a missing boy. There's plenty of action and development of characters and relationships. It's a nice story, well-told and I am sure that children would enjoy it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a wonderful piece of writing! I really enjoyed reading this book for the beautiful use of language as much as the story line.
Benjamiah is drawn from the world he knows into another, much more perplexing Wreathenwold. Wreathenwold is full of magic, strange people and little colour. He finds himself on a dangerous mission helping Elizabella to rescue her missing brother Edwid.
Both children have to learn to trust each other as they go on their quest. Benjamiah, in particular, has to learn that not everything follows the rules of physics, something he has previously relied on.
I can't wait to get this into the hands of my student readers.

My daughter (9 year old) devoured this book and has already reread it, savouring it on a second read! Her highest praise for this book was “ I felt like I was right there in the book with the characters and the animals”

She really enjoyed the very vivid descriptions ; it made it easy for her to imagine the world on the pages. She loved the characters and the birds and animals and spent some time googling after reading.

She said the ending was one of her favourites of any book she read last year as it felt natural and satisfying and not just wrapped up because it was the end ( her words).

A huge recommendation from her and she’s looking forward from more from this author..

An enchanting, magical and spell binding tale, one that will ensure readers are hooked as the main characters traverse a labyrinth with a monster Minotaur in the centre.

Edwid is who we first meet as he discovers a crack in his bedroom wall, one that is new and sinister. The crack instructs Edwid to visit an author, who promptly dies when faced with Edwid. We are then thrown into chapter two with Benjamiah, in the present day. Uncertain as to how these boys are connected, I found myself devouring this book in two sittings.

Benjamiah and Edwid live in different times and places but one will search for the other and for the answers surrounding the labyrinth and the history of dollcasting. Incredibly imaginative and filled with suspense, adventure and strange dolls, I am impressed this is a debut.

I can’t spoil this book for future readers but prepare to be thrilled, surprised and at times, terrified.

The greatest strength of this novel is its descriptive power. particularly related to world-building. There is a wide diversity of locations that are. richly drawn, it is a shame that transitions from one location to another were rushed and largely superficial.

Characterisation was not a strength. The central characters were not very pleasant and while there was a little personal growth, there is little for the reader to empathise with. They were relatively young children, but their thought processes shifted from childish to. adult-like for no apparent reason.

Secondary characters were well drawn, but often there was little to differentiate between positive and negative roles. It was as though the characters were there to facilitate the storyline and that their personalities were irrelevant.

Baddies were largely recognised as bad because the story emphasised that they were bad. Whilst the story described their wicked acts, when it came to their interaction with the central characters they were easily overcome or avoided. As such there is lots of potential for lighttension, but it is always diffused.

The story is purposeful and the pace is quite fast, which should have made it an easy read, but without affinity for the leads, the story dragged.

The ending was somewhat predictable, but there was a nice little twist associated with a secondary character that helped to tie the story threads together. Sadly the ending was the. most fragmented part of the story and it did not hold together well. There is an opening for further books and so some things remain unclear or unresolved.

It is not clear who the target audience is for the book as its content and style vary. As a first publication, it has potential, but on its own merits, it clearly could have been stronger. Not quite a 3-star

This is the story of two children, both lost. Elizabella's brother has been taken and she is lost without her twin. Benjamiah has been lured into going through a door in the basement, a door which disappears immediately once he is on the other side of it, now he is lost with no way of getting back home. Benjamiah and Elizabella meet and Benjamiah decides to help Elizabella find her twin. This is a really well written book with great world building and wonderful characters- I loved Benjamiah, Elizabella, Emra, Nuisance and Ariadna. I look forward to the second instalment and highly recommend this book to you.

I think this is a great intro to fantasy for the age group it is intended. The characters are all believable (although I did read their names as Benjamin, Elizabeth & Edwin for the first half of the book).

The adventure was very engaging once it got going but I did think the beginning was a bit slow, it took me the same amount of time to read the first 20% as it did to read the rest of the book.

I loved that it handled difficult subjects that children sometimes have to go through (possible parents divorce & grief) and think it handled both of these very well.

This is a book I would have loved as a child.

A great addition to upper MG shelves! Fascinating magic and world building and I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.

Benjemiah is a rational, scientifically inclined boy who has no interest or belief in magic. Living with his family above a bookstore, he is about to learn the error of his ways.

Thrust into the magical surroundings of
Wreathenwold by a series of bizarre events, Benjemiah encounters the fiercely determined Elizabella, who is searching for her brother.

After she finally agrees to accept his help, the duo navigate their unfamiliar surroundings by solving puzzles and somehow staying one step head of the various threats they face. And, if nothing else, all this takes Benjemiah's mind off his parents' looming break up...

This is an imaginative journey into a fantastical dimension that will carry young readers along for the adventure. It is an exciting story, and also fairly thought-provoking. Because though not all problems can be easily solved with determination and bravery, they can certainly be faced up to and dealt with.

And while what's lost may not always be found, sometimes when you find what you weren't looking for, you realise how much you in fact needed it. Recommended for readers in the target age group and beyond.

Benjamiah lives with his family above their bookshop. One night he finds that he has stepped into an unfamiliar world in which he meets Elizabella who is trying to find her missing brother. She reluctantly lets him join her on her quest and they set off through the labyrinth. The combination of her daring and his puzzle solving skills leads them to several narrow escapes from sinister and mysterious characters.
The fantastical plot tackles the theme of different types of grief; Benjamiah is worried about the breakdown of his parents’ marriage whilst Elizabella is struggling to come to terms with her brother being lost.
The early chapters are slow moving as the author spends time building this alternative fantasy world but then the plot and the action gathers pace.

It has magic, a whole new reality, a gripping narrative and some amazing characters to follow, all set in a beautifully crafted world! You feel like you’ve opened a door to a whole new universe along with Benjamiah.

You’ll be entertained, flabbergasted, on the edge of your seat and feeling every victory and close shave with our characters. I loved it!! And this for a debut book too? I had no idea and to breakthrough the writing world with this absolute gem is impressive!

We follow Benjamiah as he finds himself out of his world and into a whole new one, where people have poppets and the ability to use Aether, a type of magic that tethers them to their poppets. It has a real element of His Dark Materials about it and makes for a very good read.

Edwid is missing and his twin sister Elizabella embarks on a quest to find him. But she also finds herself saddled with this mysterious boy, Benjamiah who is hoping to help her and in turn, help himself get home to his family.

The pages dwindled, I was invested and I couldn’t get it less than 5 stars if I tried!!