The Strangeworld Travel Agency : The edge of the ocean by L.D. Lapinski

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency: The edge of the ocean is the second book in the Strangeworlds trilogy written by UK author L.D Lapinski. 

The heroine is the resourceful and gutsy twelve year old Felicity (Flick) Hudson who in the first book in the series, realised that she was in possession of the magical power of being able to create a schism - "a tear in the fabric of reality" in order to gain entry to other worlds. The growth of contol of this power mirrors the growth of understanding of much including the gentle brushstrokes of suggestion of budding single sex attractions that occur in an uncontrived manner alongside all the other relationships between the characters within the book. Thus The Strangeworlds Travel Agency:The edge of the ocean, besides being a fantasy/sciencefiction/adventure book, is also a coming of age story. 

Flick joins the Strangeworlds Travel Agency which consists of a tight group of interesting characters. Their travels to other worlds are accomplished by stepping into the right suitcase which takes them from the ordinary world of Little Wyverns to impossibly magical otherworlds. The friends are summoned by a pirate queen to save the world of The Break, a map of which is conveniently placed at the beginning of the book. The Break is a two dimensional world which is rapidly shrinking as parts of the edge break off. This loss of land could be caused by evil forces or the reader could see this story as an allegory referring to the eco refugees of today. Flick and her friends have to unite previous enemies and ultimately lead the inhabitants of The Break to safety through a combination of magic and trust. This book is well written, full of high action and dangerous, heart stopping adventure with escapes constantly made just in the nick of time.

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency: The edge of the ocean is a robust read for capable readers who are able to hold multiple storyline threads together.  Readers of Terry Pratchett's brand of humorous fantasy and science fiction would enjoy this new series.

Themes: Adventure, Fantasy, Multiverses, Eco-refugees, Pirates, Mer-people, Friendship.

Wendy Jeffrey