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Merida, a special campervan made in Portugal, has arrived in England. Zoe and Vincent are close by in a park in Norwich. Zoe is avoiding her nagging mother and the school bully when she meets a strange girl who whizzes down a slide that shimmers gold, then blue, then purple. When Zoe tries it is like sliding through clay. Zoe pinches the girl and buries her shoes but the strange girl is strangely nice to her and leads her, Vincent and her mother to Merida where they are told they are about to go on the greatest journey of their lives. Zoe and Vincent insist that it involves the fastest slide in the world. But not even Zoe is prepared for a slide that belongs to a troll in Iceland, or for a campervan that is much more than a campervan, as they embark on a journey to help a kidnapped girl get back to Iceland. The journey itself is also much more than a journey as both Zoe and her single mum discover more about themselves and why they act and react the way they do. Merida, it turns out, has wheels both on the ground, and in the air, and more than diesel in her engine. ‘Lisa Selvidge’s thrilling and insightful novels show her to be a very gifted storyteller!’ Richard Zimler, author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Gospel According to Lazarus ‘Merida, the magic campervan, is a fantastic creation - a kind of modern day Mary Poppins crossed with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. A great mix of the magical and the everyday with a fine moral about transcending our pasts underlying it all. With wild travels, humour and a glorious journey, this is a story for children and adults to enjoy together. I loved it!’ Ian Nettleton, author of The Last Migration ‘Lisa Selvidge’s The Forbidden Slide is a fun book, involving a quest for the fastest slide in the world. Adult caution, control, and common sense is pitted against children’s thirst for excitement, and the magic talking-flying-advice-giving campervan is definitely on the children’s side. Encounter follows encounter on the way as the campervan proceeds. At the heart of the book is a belief in the get-up-and-go spirit of childhood. ’ George Szirtes, poet and translator, winner of CLPE Prize 2015
