Cassandra (Cassie) Morgan is a student at Fowell House, an austere and cheerless place where she is a target for bullies and must take refuge in cupboards or up trees to keep out of harm’s way. Seven long years have passed since Cassie’s mother enrolled her at the school, promising to return for her, but she never did. When a formal letter arrives declaring that according to administrative protocols around missing persons, her mother is now presumed dead, Cassie can’t believe it and makes a bold plan to run away and find her mother. As Cassie searches for the truth, she connects with long-lost family members and uncovers revelations about her own heritage – a familial lineage of witches and a place in a world of magic. Cassie becomes confounded by the secrecy surrounding her mother’s disappearance and the reluctance by others to consider her mother still alive.

This transformative story about hope and standing by one’s convictions is recommended for readers brave-of-heart and emboldened by stories of great courage. Such readers should be ready to brazenly follow their heroine into dark and forbidden places and feel quite unfazed about breaking rules for the sake of an important quest. For ages 9+.

Natalie Platten is from Readings Doncaster