The Illustrated Child

What a wonderful book. Compelling, memorising and so beautifully written. I knew by the time I was halfway through page one that I was going to love it. It's all about childhood, father daughter relationship and hidden treasure, with the true treasure being not money or riches but the treasure found deep inside.
Polly Crosbys descriptive power is awesome, her words filled with such power and beauty, light and darkness and I will treasure the experience of having read this book for a long time.

The illustrated child is a beautifully written atmospheric novel about a young girl called Romilly who lives in a ramshackle home with her eccentric father, she has a wonderful relationship with her father but when he starts drawing her for a book their life’s change forever.
The story really envelops you and leaves you really caring about Romilly and it was almost a shame to say goodbye to her at the end.

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, it's beautifully written and mesmerising. It's a book everyone should read at least once. I will definitely buy this book on publication day. It's a future classic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this amazing book.

Beautifully imagined story with memorable characters. The writing is exquisite, the details about the paintings are especially good. The story draws out, keeping the reader enchanted. This is a book that almost demands to be reread, to be savoured chapter by chapter instead of the big gulp of reading it for the first time, seeing where the story leads. Amazingly assured; I loved it!

There are good books, great books, and exceptionally good books, that need to be read at all costs. This is one of those books. A book that you live in, and a book that changes you inside. I could not recommend this book anymore.

Romilly Kemp Lives in a ramshackle of a house. with her artist father. They live an idealistic and eccentric life with a small kitten called Monty. They have traveled around and finally settled in the house. Her father comes up with an idea for a series of books based on Romilly and Monty's adventures. He illustrated the books with his paint that are packed with intricate detail. The books sell extremely well, and fans are convinced that the books contain clues to a treasure hunt.

People travel the globe and turn up at the house and it's surrounding wanting to catch a glimpse of Romilly and her father. Her father starts to become increasingly withdrawn and begins to disappear. Romilly discovers that the books contain clues to something much more valuable than simple treasure. This is the brief of the book, but that in itself is extremely clever as it hides the true meaning of those statements. It deals with one of the biggest issues of loss facing the world today.

The book deals with childhood and growing up. It also deals with loss, in more than one way. It is a journey of the heart and mind. It is NOT a book with clues and a surprise ending, it is so much more. It starts off with idyllic childhood of joy, but as time progresses, things start to change. All of the main characters are well wounded and defined. The journey is continuous and never flags or gets bogged down. I believe that the author has experience of the issues and has poured their heart and soul into this project.

It is a must read 5 starts.