The Shell Keepers

Corrine has always enjoyed spending time with her beloved grandfather, Siya, mudlarking by the Thames, hoping to uncover something exciting and is thrilled to discover a beautiful conch-like shell, a very special sort of treasure, which she vows to keep forever. A few months later, she finds herself on the beach looking for more treasure near Siya’s home in Whiteshell Bay, although sadly he is no longer there to search alongside her. Spying something gleaming in the sand, Corrine is amazed to find another perfect shell, very similar to her previous find, but what she wasn’t expecting, was that this one is occupied by a tiny girl, who announces herself as Kauri of the Democonch. Her people and their miniature world are in danger, trapped in ‘bad water’ and Kauri has come to find the Shell Keeper, to help save them, before the tides turn and they are lost forever. There also seems to be something wrong with the beach, as seaweed and plants are dying and the water looks unusually dirty. Corrine, along with her sister Nimali and cousin Anthony, are determined to help the Democonch, and aided by clues left behind by their grandfather, come to understand that this was actually his plan all along, and they are continuing a legacy he began many years before. This heart-warming debut novel has everything an adventure seeker and young environmentalist would want in a book, with elements of the beloved Borrowers, plus mystery and thrills, with brave heroes and just the right amount of activism. Full of imagination and even a new language to interpret, (help can be found at the back of the book), the determined children work together to uncover a dastardly plot threatening their beloved beach and help save their new friends, discovering the importance of family and belonging along the way.