What a spellbinding story. This book grabbed my imagination and let me lose myself in the world of Wreathenwold. The story has subtle undertones of Philip Pullman but it felt fresh and new.
The story is about a lost boy in another world and how Benjamiah is taken into that world to help Elizabella find her brother. Wreathenwold is a dark mysterious place where people get lost all the time as Wreathenwold refuses to be mapped and roads change constantly making it virtually impossible to find your way. The book portrays the darkness well with suitably bad villains and the children’s adventures keep you enthralled.
For a debut story this is a brilliant read and I look forward to reading a lot more by this author.

I think "The Whisperwicks" by Jordan Lees is like the love bookchild of Neil Gaiman and Frances Hardinge- it's a fantasy adventure with a lot of heart but a definitely creepy underbelly.

Benjamiah Creek is an eleven-year-old boy with a very normal life- he lives above his family run bookstore, he play chess and he firmly believes in science, not magic. His parents leave him with his grandmother in order to go away to make a last attempt to save their failing marriage. During this time he receives a mysterious gift in the mail: a doll that can transform into an animal such a monkey or bird. The doll leads him to a secret door and into the strange world of Wreathenwold, There he meets Elizabella, a young girl searching for her missing brother. Together, they embark on a perilous quest through a labyrinth of secrets and dangers in order to bring him home- with Benjamiah wondering what exactly he has gotten himself into and how he will himself ever make it back to his own world.

I loved many things about the book- the setting of Wreathenwold felt very original and it is delightfully sinister in places. There is some fine character growth in the development of the relationship of Ben and Elizabella. I personally found Elizabella extremely annoying but I think that was the point, as the tale is really told through Benjamiah's perspective. There are some memorable supporting characters and an interesting magical system revolving around the use of dolls or "poppets" for spellcasting.

The pace is cracking, although there's a fair bit of worldbuilding with the requisite amount of info- dumping in spots that some readers might find confusing. There's also a rather confusing gap between the opening scene and things that happen later in the book which left me a little puzzled (and may need a re-read to solve, hence knocking off half a star). My main comment is that younger readers might find this book quite dark- there is a lot of peril and some of the characters are downright terrifying in a way that I, as an adult, enjoyed very much but might be off putting for little kids.

Overall, this is a very compelling debut and I could see this as the start of as a successful series. I would love to read more from this author. A recommended 4.5 stars.

With many thanks to NetGalley and Puffin for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a truly magical Book full of twists & turns linking two worlds & showing how friendship & love can overcome evil of all types! There are fabulous descriptive characters some of who you'd like to know more about . This is a wonderful book to read on your own & it would be fantastic read allowed too. Thank you Jordan Lees for such a magical journey & I will be highly recommending this to Family & Friends across the Globe . #NetGalley,#Goodreads, #FB, #Amazon.co.uk, #Instagram, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

For a debut, this book is really good. Benjamiah is a lonely boy and doesn’t believe in magic. But one day, he found a door that lead to a world full of magic!
Elizabella has lost her twin brother, and she determined to find him, eventho she knows that the journey is dangerous!
Packed with adventures, Ben try to help Elizabella find Edwid, against the Minotaur and The Magi!
I have to say that all the protagonists are quite likeable. But i like Ben the most. Because eventho he’s bit a thinker and cautious, he relies on his logic, but he’s a loyal friend. Elizabella is reckless and stubborn. The balance between them is fun to read. I think, in the half of the book, we can all guest who the villain is, but still the plot twist break my heart. I didn’t see that coming.
I hope there will be a sequel to this book!!

‘Love is the very highest form of courage’

This is not the type of book that I would normally read but I was gripped by the story right from the beginning. The way that the author described each area made me feel as though I was in the same place as the characters. It was intriguing and captivating. It was also quite sad in places. I would never have known that this was the first book by the author - well done and good luck for the future

I loved this book and think it will appeal to young people very much. The doll Benjamin finds is sinister and intriguing and when it leads him to another world he becomes embroiled with another family. Benjamin has his own family worries but through his involvement with the initially difficult Elizabella - such a great character- he helps her resolve her own family woes regarding her brother. As well as a touching emotional story it is thrilling and the children have many adventures. It’s set up for a great series - I hope !

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review. The Whisperwicks is a very original, magical, mystery tale which I thoroughly enjoyed. The word building is top notch,

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.