A gripping, beautifully-told fantasy quest set in a parallel medieval world. Three friends and a one-eyed raven find themselves up against the rulers who restrict the gifts of writing and reading to an elite few. They must go on a wild and unpredictable rescue mission. Who and what will they meet along their way? And what is the terrible truth behind everything they think they know about their world? 'You will be bewitched!'
SHORTLISTED: 2025 Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction, New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults SHORTLISTED: 2025 NZSA Best First Book Award, New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults WINNER: NZ Booklovers Award for Best Junior Fiction Book 2025 STORYLINES NOTABLE BOOK 2024
Three friends and a one-eyed raven find themselves up against the rulers who restrict the gifts of writing and reading to an elite few.
They must go on a wild and unpredictable rescue mission. Who and what will they meet along their way? And what is the terrible truth behind everything they think they know about their world?
'You will be bewitched!' GRACI KIM
'Sparky and spooky, humorous and luminous.' ELIZABETH KNOX
'I adored it.' RACHAEL KING
'Beautiful, warm and assured debut.' HERA LINDSAY BIRD
'Claire Mabey writes like a dream.' ANNA SMAILL
'The whole novel is a riff on the transformative power of reading and writing… done with a terrific panache.' HARRY RICKETTS
'This is the fantasy read of the year for students.' Jackie Rodgers, Read NZ
Author bio:
Claire Mabey is the founder of Verb Wellington, LitCrawl Wellington and Lōemis. She is also books editor at The Spinoff, book critic at RNZ and co-curator of the writers' programme at the Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts.
A gripping, beautifully-told fantasy quest set in a parallel medieval world. Three friends and a one-eyed raven find themselves up against the rulers who restrict the gifts of writing and reading to an elite few. They must go on a wild and unpredictable rescue mission. Who and what will they meet along their way? And what is the terrible truth behind everything they think they know about their world? 'You will be bewitched!'
SHORTLISTED: 2025 NZSA Best First Book Award, New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
WINNER: NZ Booklovers Award for Best Junior Fiction Book 2025
STORYLINES NOTABLE BOOK 2024
Three friends and a one-eyed raven find themselves up against the rulers who restrict the gifts of writing and reading to an elite few.
They must go on a wild and unpredictable rescue mission. Who and what will they meet along their way? And what is the terrible truth behind everything they think they know about their world?
'You will be bewitched!' GRACI KIM
'Sparky and spooky, humorous and luminous.' ELIZABETH KNOX
'I adored it.' RACHAEL KING
'Beautiful, warm and assured debut.' HERA LINDSAY BIRD
'Claire Mabey writes like a dream.' ANNA SMAILL
'The whole novel is a riff on the transformative power of reading and writing… done with a terrific panache.' HARRY RICKETTS
'This is the fantasy read of the year for students.' Jackie Rodgers, Read NZ
Author bio:
Claire Mabey is the founder of Verb Wellington, LitCrawl Wellington and Lōemis. She is also books editor at The Spinoff, book critic at RNZ and co-curator of the writers' programme at the Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts.