Brightstorm
Vashti Hardy, George Ermos

Subjects
- Fantasy Worlds - awesome adventures of magic and mystery
- Action Adventures - chills, thrills and plenty of spills
Shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2019 A fast-paced fantasy adventure that will set your imagination soaring! Twins Arthur and Maudie Brightstorm receive word in Lontown that their famous explorer father has died in a failed attempt to reach the southernmost point in the world. Not only that, but he has been accused of stealing fuel before he died! The twins don't believe the news, and they answer an ad to join a new attempt to reach South Polaris. It's their only hope of learning the truth ... and salvaging their family's reputation. As the winged ship Aurora sets sail, the twins must keep their wits about them and prove themselves worthy of the rest of the crew. But will Arthur and Maudie find the answers they seek? ""Hardy has drunk from the same cup as Philip Reeve and Philip Pullman.' - Literary Review ""[A] pacy tale of lies and greed versus loyalty and derring-do"" - Guardian ""A ripsnorting yarn."" - School Library Journal ""Marvelously imagined."" - Publishers Weekly ""Stand[s] out"" - Kirkus Reviews
Reviews

Imaginative and exciting, I loved following the children on their adventure.
CalOS

A lovely book about two children who do not give up and follow their dreams! Would read to my class in the future!
milliemaejones

At times, the invented vocabulary felt like it would confuse the (mainly) second language children in my school. However, the story was gripping from the beginning and even more so once the characters had set off on their adventure. As well as some familiar themes, there are a number of original events which are entertaining and truly unexpected. Many likeable, brave and kind hearted characters and some well formed evil ones too. An imaginative story with wonderfully described settings and exciting twists.
CB17

Great adventure book for UKS2. Some difficult vocabulary for some children, but a good book to focus on new vocab and sentence structure. Really unusual, lovely story, really enjoyed it.
Miss Peacock

This is a fantastic story about sky travel and mystery! Maude and Arthur Brightstorm are twins and from an exploring family. When their dad disappears on an expedition, they know that something isn't quite right. They join another explorer to find out what has hall to their dad. It was gripping from start to finish. I would definitely recommend it
Wendylovely

Brightstorm is an adventure in imagination with strong female characters who provide role models in determination, loyalty and courage. There is a quest with a personal puzzle to be solved and you will experience a range of emotions as you follow the journey of the Brightstorm twins and the crew of the Aurora.
Mrs JLC

Absolutely loved this book and can't wait to continue the series. I was engaged from the start and loved the character build up. Fantastic adventure that I will be strongly recommending. Also, I want a thought-wolf! Who wouldn't?!!
Cazaline

Full of adventure! The characters are so interesting and intriguing. The reader empathizes with the plight of the main charters and wills them through the book. Such an exciting book full of excellent description and action. Full of opportunities to read for pleasure and escape to different worlds.
sarah.bell

An epic and thrilling adventure filled with impending danger, friendship and determination.
MDoherty

My challenge this summer is to read 8 books by authors I have never read before... I thought this book looked promising: I liked the cover, and the setting in an 'alternative' world. As such it reminded me of the 'Mortal Engines' series by Philip Reeve, with imaginative names for some of the characters and places, though I didn't think it was quite so well written. Some of the characters have odd characteristics, for no apparent reason (Why has Felicity got such big feet, and a special spoon?) Maybe these features will be explained in future books - but I doubt I'll be reading them: at the end I just didn't care enough about the people or what happened to them
RosemaryD

I much preferred The Griffin Gate and Harley Hicks to this. I didn’t think the characters had much substance to them. I will read book two though.
Lindsay50015

A great adventure book. Wonderful characters
JEveritt

A fantastic adventure story with great characters, a pacy story and lovely descriptive language. Fans of Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights would enjoy this.
alo

A really gripping story, with many inspirations visible. Clever twists and turns on a quest theme with a happy ending and lead to the sequel. Young inspiring characters showing how it is really only our mindset which stops us achieving what we want. Thoroughly recommended and a great way of inspiring story writing using maps and problems and solutions encountered in different settings.
HelenHHS

A fantastic adventure book. I used this over lockdown for English work to do at home. The children loved writing explanations describing how sky ships worked, writing newspaper reports describing the disappearance, drawing maps of their own island and sketching wolves. A fantastically motivating read - many of my children bought the next book in the series after reading through school.
Claire mcgarr

This was a great read, full Of action and adventure. We followed twins through the loss of their father and the life that caused them to have. Lovable collection of characters and exciting twists and turns until the end.

An amazing adventure story with many twusts and turns. Twin heroes who overcome many adversities in order to succeed despite great odds. An expedition in a sky ship is a creative means by which to explore unknown lands and the young captain embodies many qualities. Highlt recommended for Year 5/6
janeheronsmith

This book is an exciting adventure story. It is full of strong characters including Maudie. Maudie is a twin and is a very strong female lead. She is bold and determined to make sure her brother is okay. Their journey is full of excitement and danger which makes it a book that can’t be put down.
Reblind