The tower at the end of time by Amy Sparkes

I had high hopes for this book as I loved the first book - The House at the edge of magic, and I wasn’t disappointed. The book opens where the first book ended with Nine and her fellow house mates on their way to the wizarding hopscotch championships. Everything seems to be okay, although there are some issues still with the house and the magical curse that it had. The tea cupboard still causes problems and the skeleton is still upset but even with these small issues the journey is progressing as it should until the house develops hiccups. Now we all know that hiccups are irritating but imagine if your house, which is magic and travelling through magic time, developed a really bad case of hiccups. Unfortunately for Nine and the other residents they don’t have to imagine as they are living it, with the house bouncing through time portals and jumping across magically time periods. 

They do make it to the championships but the need to save the house and themselves moves the focus away from the games and towards the Tower from the title.

I absolutely love Amy Sparkes imagination and quirky sense of absurd. This is a series that will engage readers of all ages and keep them entertained until the very end.

I can’t wait for the next book which truly is the sign of a great read.

I would recommend this book to any age but definitely from ages 9 and up, independent readers will love reading this and although it would be fabulous as a class novel I can see students so desperate to find out what happens at the Hopscotch championship and whether they can stop the hiccups in time that they will read ahead.

This is a book that will be shared around a group of students and one that will become a very popular read as it is pure fun with just the right amount of tension.

Themes: Magic, Friendship, Fantasy.

Mhairi Alcorn