The Secret of Golden Island

What a beautifully written story by Natasha Farrant! If you love Enid Blyton but wished her stories could be whisked into 2024, then look no further!  The Secret of Golden Island is full of the kinds of action and adventure that are in Blyton's stories, but more complex, sensitive themes including fleeing one's home because of war, and family illness.

Farrant's flair for using descriptive language (brilliant to use as examples in class writing activities), brings the story alive in a way that is quite outstanding.

The main characters in the story are two children - Skylar, whose grandfather is not well and she misses the fun times they used to spend together;  and Yakov, who has arrived in England to live with relatives after escaping the war at home and misses his family. Soon after meeting, they realise that they have a similiar essential need - friendship!

After being 'called' to the beach, Skylar and Yakov open up a little about their worries. It is here, on the beach, that they see, across the water, that there is a competition to win the nearby island! Both feel that winning it could be the answer to all their problems!  As the adventure progresses, Skylar and Yakov encounter many problems and overcome difficulties that arise when competing against adults.

The book is not only ideal for using in KS2 / ages 8+ for descriptive language examples, but also for better understanding the lives of others; learning about how child refugees can feel when having to escape to a different country because of war, and also the feelings a child can encounter when a beloved grandfather becomes ill.

336 pages / Reviewed by Donna Ritchie, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

Here is a book for the many children who say that they read to escape to a place they feel calm and happy. For me, it was like drinking bottled childhood - the experience of reading it made me feel as though I was nine again.

In The Secret of Golden Island, Yakov has arrived in England to escape war and danger at home. Although safe with his aunt and uncle, he misses his previous life and is struggling to fit in or make friends at his new school. Skylar is similarly struggling, but for different reasons. Her old friends have new interests that she doesn't share. Trips on her grandfather's boat have been her consolation but now he is terribly unwell and she is convinced that it is partly her fault. When their paths cross accidentally, somehow Skylar and Yakov recognise something familiar in each other.

Then a competition to win an island - a tiny island that 'sits like a fortress in the swirling sea' - is announced, and suddenly it feels that their destinies are entwined. Winning, surely, will help them to mend the broken pieces of their lives. But what will it take to win? How many lies will they need to tell? How can two children stand a chance against the impressive collection of grown-ups they are pitted against?

Of course the premise of The Secret of Golden Island is implausible but I never questioned it, any more than I questioned that the Famous Five could bring hardened criminals to justice. Like all the best children's stories, it bubbles with hope - hope that a courageous heart and loyal friendships can overcome fear, loss and sadness; hope that children have the resourcefulness and determination to achieve what the adults cannot.

The book could spark some interesting discussions on the themes of friendship, guilt and belonging as well as whether it can ever be right to tell a lie.  It gently addresses the trauma of being a terrified child caught up in a war.  Most of all, though, it's another poignant and heartwarming read from a hugely talented storyteller - her best yet?

336 pages / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

The Secret of Golden Island is a perfect book for the summer - or the winter months, if you want to be carried back to these golden sunlit days! It took me back to my own readings of Enid Blyton's adventures, albeit with more depth as the main characters in this story, Skylar and Yakov, have already faced many challenges and losses in their lives.

When they see an island advertised as the prize in a competition, the children know that this could be the answer to some of the problems they and their families face, and they are determined to win it for their families. Unfortunately, some of the grown-ups they are up against in the challenge will stop at nothing to win it for themselves, putting the children in great danger.

The reader is carried along in this all-consuming adventure at pace but with much to savour in the descriptions of the island and the characters - discovering the island's idiosyncratic owners and meeting the broad range of competitors. There are many moments of peril which add to the tension but also the humanity at the heart of the story.  I delighted in the children's hope and optimism that yes, the island was meant to be theirs - and they had the courage and self belief to try to win it.

I loved The Secret of Golden Island and I know many young readers who will enjoy it, too - and then hopefully go on and explore Natasha Farrant's earlier adventures!

336 pages / Reviewed by Elen Green

Suggested Reading Age 9+