The Griffin Gate

Another of Barrington Stokes' series of books for dyslexic and reluctant readers, The Griffin Gate is an outright winner! Adventure, fantasy and a little bit of steampunk all combine to make up a real page turner.

Grace Griffin lives in Copperport, in the country of Moreland. Grace's family are wardens who fight crime across the country and give help to anyone needing it. They do so by use of the Griffin Map. Invented by Grace's great-grandmother, the mechanical map is the most important piece of technology in Copperport. Each town and village has its own golden gate on the map, which flashes when help is needed - red for an emergency and blue for a lesser incident. The wardens respond to these alerts by teleporting into the map to the place where trouble has arisen. Grace's mum, Ann, and brother, Bren, are fully trained wardens while Grace still has two more years of training to complete.

One day, Grace is left alone in the map room when a blue light indicates that the village of Mudford is in trouble. When the light changes to red, Grace cannot stop herself from answering the call and is pulled into the map. There, she finds a world of mechanical monsters, magical spyglasses and treacherous mayors. With the help of her family's mechanical raven, Watson, Grace sets to work to solve the mystery and bring the culprits to justice.

I absolutely loved this book; the story is fast paced and exciting with a good helping of humour. There are some creepy sections, especially when Grace is tracking the 'monster' in the forest. Grace herself is a fantastic character; brave and fearless. She knows that she has made a mistake in entering the map, but is determined to see her quest through to the end. Watson the raven is a great addition to the story, supporting Grace through her ups and downs and ultimately playing a large part in Grace's safe return to Copperport.

The author introduces lots of clever gadgets into the story - the fact that Watson can record and play back conversations he has heard is truly ingenious! The illustrations by Natalie Smillie are lovely and really help the flow of the story. This may be a short book - only 104 pages, including the illustrations - but the author cleverly packs so much detail and adventure into it that it reads like a full-length novel.

The book is accessible to dyslexic readers due to the font size and spacing, and the colour of paper used, but any reader would enjoy this beautifully written story. At the end of the book we find an advert for the next Grace Griffin adventure and I can't wait to find out what happens to her in the sequel.

104 pages / Reviewed by Beverley Somerset, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 9+