This heartfelt and captivating story had me on the edge of my seat as I was dragged into the darker side of Furthermoor
After losing his sister last year, Bren isolates himself from friends and family with nothing but his grief and his bully and tormentor Shaun to keep him company. At least, he’s got Furthermoor to escape to. Furthermoor, a refuge deep in Bren’s imagination, is a place where things are simple, where he can be happy and most importantly a world where he still has his sister.
This was a heartfelt and captivating story that I could not put down. With its beautifully written world full of clockwork and crystals and its realistic relatable characters.
I found myself suffering alongside Bren as he faced all his struggles and cheering him on as he started to overcome them.
This book had me on the edge of my seat as I was dragged into the darker side of Furthermoor.
I recently read Darren Simpson's “The memory thieves” and this was another great book by him. May be even better than the last one.
Read this book for an emotional rollercoaster of imagination and courage.
This book is about Bren, a 12 year old boy who has had a really difficult time - he has recently lost his sister in an accident and his mum and dad are struggling to cope. His dad never leaves the house and his mum is always at work. At school, things are no better where Bren finds himself the target of the school bullies.
He has an amazing imagination though and creates a world to escape to called Furthermoor. It's a mechanical world where his dead sister, Evie, still lives in his mind. Bren feels safe in Furthermoor with Evie by his side, until Featherly arrives.
Everything in Furthermoor is created by Bren's imagination but Bren can not imagine Featherly away - even his magic watch doesn't help. Featherly's arrival in Furthermoor happens as Bren's real life bullies get more mean and even his own mind can't provide him with an escape.
At some points, I cried because - no spoilers - I was scared, sad, angry - so many emotions!
My favourite part of this book was when Bren stood up to Featherly because it shows how far he has come and it really made me emotional.
I couldn't stop reading this book! I would recommend this book for those who like imaginative worlds and people conquering their fears.
I'm looking forward to rereading this with some of the discussion questions in mind.
I would rate this book 5/5.
Bren escapes a bully by creating an imaginary clockwork world where he can be happy. But will reality catch up with him there?
In this story, Bren escapes from a bully by creating an imaginary clockwork world which he can access through his special watch. In Furthermoor he can control everything and his sister Evie is alive. When a new boy starts in his class and stands up to the bully, Bren goes to Furthermoor to ask his sister what he should do. This time a mysterious person is there, the Featherly, who steals Bren’s watch. How is it possible for there to be something in his imaginary world which he didn’t create? If Bren doesn’t get his watch back and leave Furthermoor he will die in real life.
This book has a good message for children about the importance of standing up for yourself. It was also interesting to think about how we compare life in an imagined better place to what we really have and how easy it can be to neglect real life, which is where we have to make things better for everyone. I’d recommend it for anyone who is worried about bullying.