Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend by Lizzie Huxley- Jones

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Knights Of 

Released: 1st of June 2023 

“The problem with growing up listening to bedtime stories about monsters, magic and myth is that you don’t really question it when a lake summons you…”

The lake has been calling to twelve-year-old Vivi Conway. On the day she and her Mams will move from Wales to London, she sneaks out to investigate what is calling her there. Instead of a quiet swim, she finds Excalibur (much smaller than she expected), a ferocious monster (much scarier in real life than in her mythology books), a new friend (which she doesn’t want at all) called Dara and a ghostly dog named Gelert (who can talk).

Gelert insists that Vivi is part of a magical group of children who share the souls of witches from legend and must protect the world from being taken over by the evil King Arawn of the Otherworld. Oh, and now she can magically control water. With a little extra help from spiky Stevie and sweet-hearted Chia, Vivi must come to terms with her magical destiny and be brave enough to embrace true friendship.

The first book in a fantastical series that combines a quest for magic and friendship with Welsh mythology and a pinch of science, all within a contemporary setting.

What I Have to Say 

This book is everything to me. It is an adventure perfect for the little child I was! Vivi is a great heroine and I feel really represented by her, but I also love all the other characters too, I really liked the diversity! Gelert was my favourite though because who doesn't love a grumpy talking ghost dog? 

I was really interested in the Welsh mythology. I love mythology stories and I didn't know much about the legends in this book. Arthur, Excalibur and the lady in the lake are naturally familiar to me, but I don't know a lot of the other characters who are featured. I also didn't know some of the creatures in the book and it was fun to see something new! 

Honestly reading Hux's books are like wrapping up in a warm blanket. They're so cosy and comforting. I'm a really big fan of their writing. I can't wait for the next book in the series. 

My thanks go to Knights Of for providing me with this copy for review. 

Like a Charm by Elle McNicoll

 

Pages: 313

Publisher: Knights Of 

Released: 3rd of February 2022 

Edinburgh is a city filled with magical creatures. No one can see them... until Ramya Knox.

As she is pulled into her family's world of secrets and spells, Ramya sets out to discover the truth behind the Hidden Folk with only three words of warning from her grandfather: Beware the Sirens.

Plunged into an adventure that will change everything, Ramya is about to learn that there is more to her powers than she ever imagined.

What I Have to Say 

I love Elle McNicoll so much. I love that she writes characters like me who are neurodiverse and she does it so well. She makes things hopeful and happy rather than dwelling on the difficulties. Although sometimes her writing is so accurate that it hurts a little bit, she makes me feel seen. 

Like a Charm wasn't as good as Show Us Who You are. I still enjoyed it, but Show Us Who You Are was truly special for me and I don't think anything could live up to it. That said, I just found Ramya a little bit too abrasive. She's a beautifully made character, strong and brave and full of personality and I can understand why she's abrasive. She has every reason to be. It's just for me that was a bit off-putting. 

Like Ramya, I have dyspraxia, but only mild, so it doesn't effect my life as much as it does hers. I can't ride a bike and I have trouble carrying a tray of drinks without spilling them everywhere, but other than that, I don't really notice it. But I can still relate hugely to the way the teachers talked about her. The fact that she was always a disappointment to them because she was never quite enough. That and the motor skills workshops is something we share.

I was very happy with the representation in this book, but it wasn't everything to me the way that the autism representation was in Show Us Who We Are. Perhaps if I had worse dyspraxia, then it might have been more. 

All in all though I really enjoyed this book, I'm looking forward to seeing more adventures from Ramya and Marley, especially now that Ramya's starting to fit herself a little better. 

My thanks go to Nights Of And Ed PR for providing me with a copy of this book for review. 

M is for Autism by Vicky Martin and Students of Limpsfield Grange School

Synopsis (from the JKP Website) 

My thanks go to Jessica Kingsley Publisher's for providing me a review copy of this book. 

Pages: 93

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publisher's 

Released: 1st of July 2015

M. That's what I'd like you to call me please. I'll tell you why later.

Welcome to M's world. It's tipsy-turvy, sweet and sour, and the beast of anxiety lurks outside classrooms ready to pounce. M just wants to be like other teenagers her age who always know what to say and what to do. So why does it feel like she lives on a different plane of existence to everyone else?

Written by the students of Limpsfield Grange, a school for girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder with communication and interaction difficulties, M is for Autism draws on real life experiences to create a heartfelt and humorous novel that captures the highs and lows of being different in a world of normal.

What I Have to Say 

This was a beautiful look inside the autistic mind. While being a very simple story, it brought up all the issues of being autistic and trying to fit in, while being un-diagnosed so not even really knowing for sure if you are in fact autistic. The whole book looked at the question of what it was to be different and in fact what is normal actually is. 

The thing that most made me interested in this book was that the main character, M, was female. There aren't that many books about autistic females and when there are, they tend to show the same symptoms as the boys, when the fact is that often the females show very different symptoms. Also the mention that it's really hard to find information about autism in females and how a lot of places still define it as a disorder only found in boys,. 

Naturally the main draw of this is that it is actually written by students of a school that specialises in Autism. The illustrations and style of the book does a lot to show how it is to be autistic and have your brain overload with data. 

For a group of students writing a little book, it was very good. Obviously it was simple. I'd love to see some do something like this as a proper novel. 

Anyone who has any interest in autism and especially autism in girls should definitely read this book.