Winner of Waterstones’ Book of the Year
Katherine Rundell’s engrossing fantasy book Impossible Creatures takes the reader to a world where legendary monsters live alongside people. The narrative centres on Christopher, a young boy who learns that his grandfather is in charge of guarding a gateway that leads to the Archipelago, a collection of enchanted islands home to griffons, dragons, sphinxes, and other marvels. Christopher goes on a mission with Mal, a girl who has just arrived in his world while carrying a newborn griffon and running from a vicious killer, to defend the Archipelago from an evil menace. They come into numerous perils, mysteries, and shocks during the journey, and they also discover the strength of love, camaraderie, and bravery.
Fans of Harry Potter, the Narnia series, and His Dark Materials will like this exciting novel. Every page of Rundell’s work evokes amazement and astonishment due to its rich and colourful style. She also looks at issues like duty, identity, and belonging in addition to the moral conundrums raised by the use of magic and knowledge. Each of the likeable and well-developed characters has a distinct personality and past. The reader is kept interested and fascinated by the plot’s rapid pace and abundance of twists and turns. Beautiful pictures by Tomislav Tomic are also included in the book, adding to the overall ambiance and feel of the narrative.
The relationship between humans and nature, as well as the significance of honouring and preserving life’s diversity and beauty, are among the book’s central themes. The Archipelago is a place where animals and people coexist peacefully, and the guardians keep the natural order’s equilibrium intact. Nevertheless, a villain who seeks to take advantage of the Archipelago’s riches and secrets for personal benefit threatens this equilibrium. He stands for human avarice and conceit as well as the perils of misusing authority and knowledge. The book forces the reader to consider the ramifications of their choices as well as the obligation that comes with possessing knowledge and magic.
The heroes’ path of self-discovery and development is another recurring topic in the book. Mal and Christopher both struggle with a sense of identity and belonging because they are outsiders in their respective worlds. Christopher yearns for excitement and adventure but feels alone and misunderstood. Mal yearns for freedom and independence and is restless and rebellious. In the Archipelago, where they uncover new facets of one another and themselves, they each find what they are searching for. Along with overcoming their uncertainties and concerns, they also learn to care for and trust one another. They come to understand that they have a purpose and a place in the world, and that they are not alone. Along with learning that they are impossible creatures, similar to those they come across in the Archipelago, they also learn that they possess the magic and ability to alter their fate.
I heartily suggest Impossible Creatures to everyone who likes fiction, adventure, and the creative mind. This book acknowledges life’s diversity and beauty, as well as the excitement of making new friends and seeing new places.
The target audience for this book is noted as 8 to 12 years old, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, so older readers will definitely appreciate the fantasy and the found family element as well.
Thank you to Exclusive Books for this review copy.
About this book
Exclusive Books – Impossible Creatures
About the author
Katherine Rundell is an English author and academic who writes children’s fiction. She has won several awards for her books, such as Rooftoppers, The Explorer, and Super-Infinite. She is also a Fellow in English Literature at All Souls College, Oxford, where she specialises in Renaissance poetry
Some interesting facts about her are:
- She grew up in Zimbabwe, Belgium, and London and was influenced by her experiences of different cultures and landscapes
- She is an avid rooftop climber and was inspired by a book called The Night Climbers of Cambridge to explore the city from above
- She wrote her first book, The Girl Savage, when she was 21 years old and finished it while she was applying for a fellowship at All Souls
- She won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2022 for her book Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne, making her the youngest ever winner of the award
https://www.instagram.com/katherine.rundell/
