The Eye of the North

First of all, I would like to say thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book in return for an unbiased review.

This book is aimed at the 8-12/Middle Grade age range, and recently I’ve found myself really enjoying books within this bracket, so I decided to pick this one up. It’s a tale following a young girl after her parents have been kidnapped, and her being confused and having to find out all of the information by herself. The world building was really interesting to me as it seemed to simultaneously be set in both the past and the future. Our protagonist Emmaline wears bloomers and she is traversing the Atlantic by ship rather than by plane. However, the ocean levels around the world have been rising so much that it has drastically changed countries borders. This is explained much further into the book, but I really enjoyed this little glimpse into climate change and how this book seems to emphasise the point that we need to look after our planet to avoid this future.

I vastly enjoyed the character development within this book, with Thing (yes, that’s his name) really coming into his own and I found him very endearing. Emmaline also seems to become a little less independent, and in her case, this is a good thing! She is much more willing to allow people to help her on her way, which means she is able to do much more.

The way this book ends, I feel like it has been left open for a possible sequel. There is nothing on Goodreads, however, I’d really enjoy diving back into this world and seeing more of these children’s escapades. Definitely a fun, charming and engrossing read and one I would recommend to children and those young at heart!