The secret wild by Alex Evelyn

Alex Evelyn is a Welsh journalist with a background in public relations. This delightful and fantastical adventure story is her first novel and follows Fern, a clever, kind and curious girl whom middle-grade readers will adore.

Fern has spent her first 10 years travelling the world with her botanist parents - living outdoors, climbing trees, studying Latin, collecting seeds and making friends with plants. Suddenly her parents decide she needs to stay put for a while and live a normal life with human friends, so she is sent to live with her endearingly quirky uncle in London.

Luckily Fern has a little plant she can talk to, which makes the transition easier while she tries to make her first friend and starts to explore her new surroundings. But in the background the latest news around London is very odd - there are massive plants appearing overnight and taking over the city. No-one knows what's going on. It's literally a growing mystery!

Then Fern's plant friend gets sick. Fern joins forces with the loner boy next door in a complicated effort to save it. For each of them this means learning to work together, being mindful of their differences and making the most of their individual strengths. They have to be brave, resourceful and rely on each other.

The characters in this story are written with warmth and humour, and the story is fast-paced and packed full of interesting turns. At it's heart, too, is the idea of finding your place in the world as well as finding a balance between humans and nature. And the 'plant' names of people and places woven throughout are a real highlight. From Fern herself to Blossom the taxi driver and more - trying to spot the next one is such fun!

Themes: Adventure, plants, friendship, resilience, bravery, ecology.

Kylie Grant