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Dogspell
Dogspell
Oct 10, 2024 7:25 PM

Author:Helen Dunwoodie

Dogspell

Daisy and Robina are desperate for a dog. They've tried everything and in desperation they sneak a book about magic out of their older sister's room and try to cast a spell. Later that day, to their great amazement and delight, a dog appears in their house. The curious-looking mutt resembles a cross between a poodle and an afghan hound and the girls love their 'afoodle' on sight. Dad, however, has a more prosaic explanation for the dog's appearance, and what it's doing in their house. But all the girls want to know is, can he stay?

Reviews

There are shades of Diana Hendry and J K Rowling and children who enjoy those authors should enjoy Dunwoodie. Adults will be tickled by the humour

—— TES

Simply gripping story-telling

—— The Times

Powerful, passionate, mordantly funny and, at one point, unbearably sad

—— Debi Gliori , Daily Telegraph

An astonishing novel...I marvelled at the ferociousness of the humour, and the willingness to go into dark places

—— Financial Times

Great yarn written in fairly simple text

—— Liverpool Echo

Will take you on a fantastic journey... wonderful, funny and gripping.

—— Kids Alive

Excruciatingly funny, ferociously intelligent.

—— Kirkus

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of... stuff one can find in a Terry Pratchett book

—— The Book Smugglers

Amazing Maurice has one of the most satisfying and effective endings in the series!

—— Reading Bug

Humour, humour and more humour, an utterly unpredictable plot, interesting rats - err, characters - and a profound denoument, this is Discworld at its best.

—— Speculation

An astonishing novel . . . I marvelled at the ferociousness of the humour, and the willingness to go into dark places . . . Were Terry not demonstrably a master craftsman already, The Amazing Maurice might be considered his masterpiece

—— Financial Times

One of Terry Pratchett's funniest creations of recent years . . . It all adds up to a wonderful book - hilarious, brilliantly constructed and, especially towards its conclusion, shot through with an edginess to balance the laughs

—— SFX

Ethically challenging, beautifully orchestrated

—— Guardian

An enticing and occasionally gory introduction to the master of flat earth . . . proves that the Pied Piper of Hamelin was a front for an insider-dealing scam . . . alongside the gags and pest-control politics, there are enough complex ideas about nature, nurture and understanding to satisfy a wide audience

—— Observer

The humour is sophisticated and demands that the reader keep up to speed. A passion for language, wordplay and puns bursts from the pages

—— Daily Telegraph

Razor-sharp satire . . . excruciatingly funny, ferociously intelligent

—— Kirkus Reviews

A brilliant and bizarre reworking of that well-known folk tale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin

—— School Librarian

Great for both girls and boys . . . I loved the plot and the illustrations were interesting and spooky

—— Learning Support

Enthralling...This beautifully written story will keep readers enchanted until the very last page.

—— Booktrust

When fairytales grow up the are often rebranded fantasy, a genre that readers tend to love or hate. I picked up this novel on the strength of having been previously impressed by Red Spikes, a collection of the author's short stories. Margo Lanagan can inhabit an unusual character, see the world from their point of view and transfer that to the page. The Brides of Rollrock Island relates to selkie myths which have often been retold, but Margo Lanagan makes them her own by treating her characters as individuals, rather than types. She particularly considers the motivation of the witch Misskaella who can call beautiful, biddable women from the bodies of seals and uses this power to destroy a community that has shunned her. As the book moves through its different sections, time passes and we trace the effects on Rollrock Island from the point of view of different characters. As Margo Lanagan is completely inside her characters' experiences, information is slowly revealed and sometimes needs unravelling, a strength in the writing but one which may prove challenging. A brilliant novel that draws you in to its particular world and holds you spellbound.

—— Annalise Taylor , Carousel

Readers will find themselves beguiled by Lanagan’s deliciously unsettling and haunting prose

—— Sunday Telegraph

Bracing, powerful, resonant

—— Kirkus

This book is utterly enchanting, the dark atmosphere adding to the tension within the narrative. A brilliantly written story that I highly recommend.

—— Book Angel Booktopia
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