I would've been enchanted with this book as a child, and as an adult I was completely charmed by it too, recommended for middle grade readers and soft hearted adults alike. October, October is definitely one of the most atmospheric middle grade novels I have read in a while. It’s fun to find out how October describes each thing that is normal to our everyday life, like how she describes terrace houses as house sandwiches.

October’s only memory of living with her mother is of her leaving where “there’s crying and I know that I let out a shriek so loud it pierced the sky and the birds scattered”. Katya is an author and the co-director of Mainspring Arts, a charity that provides creative opportunities for neurodivergent people.

And thus, while I do highly, while I do very warmly recommend October, October, I do personally find a pretty major caesura and break between what Katya Balen has penned and how she has chosen to present and depict her story (and that for me, a five star rating for themes and contents but only a two star rating for writing style leaves an average rating of three stars for October, October). I was at my last school for 4 years and we had ********* book fairs every term – and every term, I was disappointed by the narrow range of books. But, with the fate of two worlds in their hands, will the twins be able to work together for once to defeat Morg and her dark magic? What is worse, she is forced to 'abandon' her owl chick to a rescue centre and she herself is sent to school.

This book would serve well as a guided reading book for KS2, and would lead to many possible experiential learning activities, such as mudlarking, creating cross-curricular links to PSHE and science, as well as English.The beautiful imagery and symbolism made this book, sparking thought-provoking questions such as what is belonging, what is wild, and what is home? It might not work for everyone, but it worked for me, as did the autumnal imagery and the focus on atmosphere over plot.

That is until an accident occurs hospitalising her dad and transporting her from the open country air to the hustle and bustle of the big loud city of London.I cared for her dad, and her mum, and Stig, and her newfound schoolfriends, and by the end I was just happy to see them be happy, even if I didn't think Balen put quite enough thought into resolving the issues that were making them unhappy in the first place. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. It is a perfect middle grade book that not only brings us to a beautiful wild adventure, but also teaches us that it’s okay to be different. The critics are describing it as a future classic and our young reviewer certainly agrees that it is an amazing book that has been published by Bloomsbury. I thought the father’s recovery a bit too quick, but overall, this middle grade novel was a great read for any age, as well as one to get kids thinking about illness and loss.