I found the opening of the book extremely sinister and not one I would want to share with my children at school.
The rest of the plot is intriguing and an interesting idea.

Starminster follows 11 year-old Astrid's escape from the only home she's ever known in her mother's rhubarb shed, through her gradual realization that she is a Librae— ancient winged beings, akin to angels— to her discovery that the Librae world is not as angelic as it seems.

With echoes of Harry Potter, this is a wonderfully imaginative tale, grounded in the familiar, yet intricately inventive. From the creaking dark of the rhubarb shed to the floating heights of London Overhead, with its glowing flowers and rickety staircases, punctured by the Shard, not to mention the brilliant re-purposing of St Paul's Cathedral, each setting forms a rich and believable backdrop to the mounting excitement of the story. Pent and Mason are instantly classic sidekicks, while Astrid herself is a beguiling mix of vulnerability and courage and the climax of the story, in the depths of London Underfoot, is truly terrifying.

A fantastically assured debut, I can't wait to read more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance e-copy of this title.

What a brilliant read! This was such a good book. I really loved the descriptions especially of the buildings . I visited London last month so I especially enjoyed this setting. The characters personalities were very entertaining. The was an exciting adventurous read and a little bit scary at the end! I loved it and would recommend to other children my age ( 10). I have told my friends about this one and recommended it to my teacher.

**courtesy of my 10 year old daughter who raced through this one. 5 stars from her.

Astrid has grown up with a loving mother, but been confined to the rhubarb shed for her entire life because Mama says she has to keep her safe from evil people. Longing to experience the outside world, she is amazed when she is freed one night by a stranger, and taken to be amazing world of London Overhead.

Because it turns out that Astrid is very special indeed, and belongs to a group of flying humans who live in a separate city far above London. She is unfledged still, but her wings will be coming in soon and her new community can teach her how to live up to her considerable potential. But will can Astrid adapts to this new and magical lifestyle so easily? And can she really be happy without her mother?

This is an inventive and unusual story which manages to bring an entirely new world effortlessly to life. Astrid is a very likeable protagonist, and the writer conveys her sense of wonder at life beyond the rhubarb shed very effectively. This book will be enjoyed by both young and not-so-young readers. It gets 3.5 stars.

This is one of those books that I’m glad to have picked up. First the cover drew me in and after reading the plot, it sounded like a great adventure. It was!

The opening chapter was an immediate hook and I quickly grew to love Astrid. Isolated in her rhubarb shed, she yearns to explore the outside world and get a glimpse of the stars she’s always wanted to see however her mother is determined to keep her safely enclosed from the dangers of the outside world..

And there’s plenty more to this world than meets the eye. Thought the sky above London was an empty space? Think again! A whole civilisation of the London Overhead exists into the clouds and there’s a whole life above there - Of Librae and people with wings. Astrid finds herself thrust into this strange world but she begins to make friends for the first time and finds life outside the shed isn’t that scary after all.

I loved seeing Astrid grow and the friendships she made was so heartwarming. It was such a feel good story and one that I absolutely blew through and was left smiling at the end. Fantastic world building, brilliant characters and a compelling story. 5/5 easy and now the next instalment can’t come quick enough!