Malamander by Thomas Taylor
“Malamander is a very engrossing fantasy/mystery/adventure/spooky story. The setting is just fantastic, a seaside town in the winter, when all the usual seaside shops and spots are mostly shut and snow replaces sun. Cheerie on Sea becomes Eerie on Sea. There’s wordplay abound (characters such as Seegol, Violet Parma, etc.) and the humour add to the sense of escalating problems for someone who just wants to have a quiet life. Chapters are short and I often found that I had read 5 or 6 when I was just sitting for a brief 5 min reading session. I can imagine reading this aloud to my class, dripping with hammed up melodrama. There’s plenty to discuss as the plot evolves and characters motives are questioned. I would definitely recommend Malamander for someone who has a class full of Tim Burton and Harry Potter fans.”