Review: The World Between Blinks

Cousins Marisol and Jake have lost their beloved grandmother and the family has gathered to pack up and sell her beach house. 

Familiar with restarting and leaving his life again and again with his travelling mum, Jake is used to change and accepts what must be done. 

But Marisol can’t let go. All she can think of is finding a way to get the money they need to save Nana’s house.

So when Marisol and Jake find a map with an X on it, that once belonged to their adventurous Nana, Marisol leaps at the chance to follow the breadcrumbs. They end up at the strange lighthouse just out at sea, and when they climb the stairs…

They fall into the World Between Blinks — the world that sits beside ours, where all the lost and forgotten things disappear to.

The World Between Blinks is a magical place, where Curators catalogue magnificent lost things, people and places: whole towns, ships lost at sea, odd socks, the Loch Ness Monster, mountains of lost treasures — it all goes somewhere, and this is where it goes.

But Marisol and Jake’s appearance in the World causes problems. They aren’t meant to be there and if they stay too long they’ll lose their memories and get catalogued just like everything else.

They make a deal with the Curators to bring them something in exchange for getting home, but Jake wonders if ending up in the World is really a mistake, and Marisol keeps getting distracted by the treasure that might save Nana’s house. If they can’t work together… if they can’t deliver what they promised to the Curators… the World Between Blinks will become their home forever. 

The World Between Blinks is a magical middle grade novel filled with adventure, wonder and whimsy. With ancient places and extinct and forgotten creatures, it’s an exploration of the past and a very cool way to highlight things in our history. Amelia Earhart is only one famous someone who makes an appearance. 

Marisol and Jake are both brilliant characters — different but balanced so you get to see different perspectives on the same topic and question who might have it right in different circumstances. 

The World Between Blinks is an exciting adventure that will crack open imaginations and fill them with fuel for years. And I also spied a little “Book 1” image on the spine of the book, so I hope that implies this won’t be the last adventure in the World Between Blinks.

Title: The World Between Blinks
Author: Amie Kaufman and Ryan Graudin
Publisher: HarperCollins, $16.99
Publication Date: 3 February 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781460711286
For ages: 8 - 12
Type: Middle Grade Fiction

from Kids' Book Review https://ift.tt/3jgrFLi