Jungledrop Written by Abi Elphinstone. Reviewed by Isabelle, Age 11

The first thing you see is a map, and it straight away intrigued me. All the places had names which made me wonder why they were called that. I wondered whether ‘The Bonelands’ was somewhere bad or dark because of the word bone being in it and throughout the book it described all the places and it became clear why they were named what they were. The descriptive writing made Jungledrop as clear in my mind as our Earth.

The first page describes how the Faraway and The Unmapped Kingdoms were made, and this is the first sign of magic. I really like books with magic in and this book had plenty so it will appeal to fans of fantasy.

Once the scene is set, it goes on to describe the Petty-Squabble family and the two twins, Fox and Fibber (the main characters). The whole family doesn’t seem very nice; they are a bit selfish and authoritative. The twins came across very spoilt and were rivals from the day they were born. You don’t find this in many books, because in most other books the main characters are nice and you immediately like them. I liked why they had the names that they did, Fox because their business obsessed parents had hoped that she would turn out sly like the animal itself and Fibber because they hoped he’d turn out to be a brilliant liars. Throughout the book, they learnt love, kindness, to get along and the meaning of family and friends.

The book is full of wonderful characters which the twins meet throughout their quest and who help the heroes of the story. One of my favourites was Heckle the parrot who had the incredible ability to read peoples thoughts and then, as she was magic, repeat them to other people. I think without her determination to find her friend Iggy (who is an Unmapper, not a parrot), Fox and Fibber wouldn’t have got to the end of their quest.

If you liked the 13 Treasures and Pinch of Magic series by Michelle Harrison, I think you would like this. Or, if your want a change from your usual books this is a really adventure-filled, funny read and I would say if you are between the age of 9 and 12 you would like Jungledrop.