posted on 02 Mar 2023

The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice by Rachel Chivers Khoo, illustrated by Rachel Sanson

Felix Jones is feeling down in the dumps – his best friend has left town, his sister seems to have forgotten to collect him after football and…..it’s raining. Could he be more miserable? As he walks into town and passes the wishing fountain he’s walked by so many times before, he decides he’ll flip a coin in this time and make his most heartfelt wish.

What he hadn’t expected is that this will be the start of a life or death adventure that will bring him into contact with the extraordinary Rupus Beewinkle, who is, we discover the local Wishkeeper. Most people can’t actually see Rupus but he spends all of his time fulfilling wishes and fixing those that have gone wrong for some reason. But Felix can’t just see him, he can talk with him and he soon discovers the terribly overworked Rupus needs some help. Rupus, it turns out, needs an apprentice and he’s decided Felix is the one.

The world of wishes is more complex than Felix might have imagined and he’s soon having to learn the wishmaking handbook by heart. But all is not well because Rupus is puzzled by the amount of wishes that are going wrong and Felix is having horrible nightmares about a monster that is chasing him. Could it be that that a Wishsnatcher – a frightening creature who steals and destroys hope and optimism – might be on the prowl in Whittlestone?

The Council of the Wishkeepers refuse to believe Rupus’ fears of a Wishsnatcher because they think the last one was destroyed in 1973 - so he and Felix are on their own. Rupus explains to Felix that if he is captured by the Wishsnatcher then all the wishes he’s enacted over the years will be sucked from him until he’s empty and this will mean the end of any future wishes being granted and the collapse of those he’s already granted.

But he’s got one other very big surprise for Felix – something that will potentially change everything for the young boy. It’s a secret big enough to threaten the very existence of Felix – and I’m not going to tell you what that is and you’re going to have to read the book yourself to find out.

Can Rupus and Felix save Whittlestone’s future wishes and thwart the plans of the Wishsnatcher? Can they save themselves from its clutches? How do you fight such a terrifying monster? How will this epic struggle change Felix’s life?

This playful, charming and exciting debut novel by Belfast-born Rachel Chivers Khoo is added to by the excellent illustrations of Rachel Sanson who has provided drawings for a number of children’s books and received the Gold Standard Selection Award from the Junior Library Guild for her work on A Sea Otter.

This entertaining tale is published by Walker Books and can be obtained from your local independent bookshop, who will be happy to order it if they don’t have a copy on their shelves.

 

Terry Potter

March 2023