Seven Sorcerers - Caro King

NIN had never liked Wednesdays, but this one took the biscuit. On this Wednesday she woke up to find that it was raining buckets and her brother had ceased to exist. Ninevah Redstone realises she is the only person to remember Toby because whoever took

NIN had never liked Wednesdays, but this one took the biscuit.

On this Wednesday she woke up to find that it was raining buckets and her brother had ceased to exist.

Ninevah Redstone realises she is the only person to remember Toby because whoever took him is about to make her disappear too.

Enter Skerridge the Bogeyman, who steals children for Mr Strood, stealing all memories of them from their parents and friends' heads.

Nin escapes to the Drift, the world that her new friend Jonas and Mr Strood inhabit. But the Drift is filled with the fabulous and the dreadful - tombfolk, mudmen, and the spirits of the seven sorcerers who once ruled the land.

Is Toby still alive, and if so can Nin rescue him and then escape the terrifying House of Strood?

Seven Sorcerers by Caro King (�9.99, Quercus) is a Harry Potter-esque fantasy tale of magic and scary monsters.

Rich with incident and imagination, friendship and bravery, the action moves along at pace. In fact, Nin and Jonas seem to be running away from things on almost every page.

It's targeted at nine to 11-year-olds (though you'll need to be a pretty good reader) and although it's rather a long time since I was in that age bracket, I reckon it ticks all the boxes - feisty child heroine, a magical land with secret gateways to our own, goblins, giant spiders, killer clouds and a variety of gruesome deaths. What's not to like?

- LINDSAY JONES