posted on 16 Apr 2017

The Girl of Ink & Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

This book, which recently won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for 2017, is constructed from a heady mix of influences. It is part legend, part fairy tale, part classical myth, part magical fantasy and part old fashioned children’s adventure story all knitted together to create something that will hold you fascinated from start to finish.

Isabella (Isa), the young heroine of the book, is the daughter of a map-maker – or cartographer as she insists – who lives on the small island of Joya, a place ruled by a seemingly authoritarian Governor who will not allow his people to travel. It just so happens that Isa’s best friend, Lupe, is the Governor’s daughter and when Lupe goes missing Isa feels she must join the search to find her.

Even before Lupe’s disappearance we know that something odd is happening on the island. A young girl has been brutally killed, the animals are acting strangely and the stories of the vengeful fire-demons which everyone thought were myth now seem less unbelievable.

Disguised as a boy and tagging along as the makeshift map-reader of an ancient parchment map Isa sets out with the Governor and his men to search the Forgotten Territories – badlands inhabited only by The Banished. Isa’s real identity is only known by her friend Pablo – only a little older than her but unusually and exceptionally strong.

It turns out that Isa, Pablo, the Governor and his men, Lupe and The Banished have a fearsome common enemy who emerge from the labyrinths beneath the island  - the Tibicenas – terrifying, huge, wolf-like savage creatures that rip humans to pieces and are able to send animals running into the sea to drown themselves rather than face such an enemy.

Isa finds Lupe in The Forgotten Territories but this is just the start of their terrible tribulations. Inadvertently falling into the labyrinths the two girls have to try and find their way out and in doing so they stumble on the real secret of the islands myth of the fire demon…..

This latter part of the book seems to channel Verne’s Journey To The Centre of The Earth or even the classical myth of Theseus in the Minator’s labyrinth. I was also reminded of some of the more claustrophobic episodes of The Hobbit where Bilbo is trapped in Smeagol’s underground haunt. Like these other influences, this book is written with pace and verve and the use of language is inventive – becoming of a writer who made her early reputation as a poet. I don’t want to reveal how the story ends but I think you’ll maybe see some influence here of Philip Reeve’s itinerant cities in Mortal Engines.

I expect this book will appeal to children and younger readers who love danger, adventure and strong characters – it’s always good to see strong girl characters at the centre of books like this – and I think the inventive book design will help too. The decoration of the pages with map-making paraphernalia is a nice touch and the full island map at the front end helps to create a Treasure Island vibe from the outset.

The book was published in paperback and so despite being a recent release it won’t be prohibitively expensive to buy – a good way to use pocket money if you ask me.

 

Terry Potter

April 2017