Vanya and the Wild Hunt

Vanya is an eleven-year-old who has just been diagnosed with ADHD, but otherwise life seems to be carrying on as normal; that is as normal as things can be if you can hear books talk and can speak back to them. However, when her parents are attacked by a monster, she discovers that she is part of a very unusual family; they are monster hunters and archivists, tasked with keeping the world safe from the magical creatures.  Vanya finds herself being sent to the magical school of Auramere, where hopefully she will be safe.  But as in all good fantasy stories, trouble finds a way to follow her.  The question is how can Vanya save the school from the dark Wild Hunt and find her place in this new and strange world?

What a fantastic new heroine in the world of fantasy!  Vanya finds that receiving her diagnosis for ADHD helps her to understand why she sees the world in a different way, although the books are a totally different matter.  There is a delightful contrast between her normal life, going to school in Norwich, and the community that she finds at Auramere.  In each environment she still discovers that she does not fit in perfectly, but that with support, she is able to make friends and make the most of her life.  There are some very sneaky twists and turns to this plot and the one at the end of the book had me catching my breath.  What did come across is that this is just the first part of a series, and I will be looking out very keenly for the next in the series.  There are so many questions to be answered, and I wonder if the author is playing with our ideas about who are the heroes and villains?  No doubt time will tell, but at the moment this is a brilliant five star read.