Washpool

This First Nations story about two sisters who find themselves lost in a magical land is written by the 2020 winner of The Readings YA Prize.

Cienna is cool and confident, but her younger sister Bella is quiet and picked on at school. When the two go swimming at a waterhole known as Washpool, they disappear into a portal and appear in a land called Muse, which resembles their own but is populated by magical, talking creatures. Keen to get home, they are told that they cannot return the way they came, so they venture further into Muse to attend a Summer Feast, losing one another but discovering more about themselves, this strange world and the myriad enchanted creatures that live within it.

This heartfelt story empathetically explores the dynamics between sisters and will be enjoyed by readers aged 10+ who enjoy The Magic Faraway Tree and other stories about siblings having magical adventures.