Liz Kessler Books

This review was written by Miss 12. 

I have recently discovered a great author, Liz Kessler. She’s written two series, Emily Windsnap and Philippa Fisher, as well as stand-alone books: Has anyone seen Jessica Jenkins?, A year without Autumn and North of Nowhere.

For as long as she can she can remember, twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap has lived on a boat in the harbour. Oddly enough, for just as long, her mother has kept her away from the water. When her mother allows her to have school swimming lessons, she’s thrilled, but as soon as she’s in the water, she discovers something amazing - her legs can turn in a mermaid’s tail! Find out how Emily becomes best friends with a mermaid, and the fun and danger they get into together! I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and the books 2-6 cover different adventures and new people that they meet. Emily has an exceptionally strong relationship with the mermaid, they both care for each other - and think each other is the best person (or mermaid) in the world! I enjoyed this series as it’s about friendship and magic, adventure and some interesting concepts.

Philippa Fisher is a girl around the same age, with crazy, wacky parents who embarrass her so much. What with the going-away of her best friend, she becomes lonely and depressed. That is, until a magical fairy named Daisy comes and grants her three wishes. At first, Philippa and Daisy don’t get along, but when something goes wrong, they must work together to solve a problem caused by Philippa’s wishes. In the second and third books, Philippa must rescue Daisy from a captor and travel into time itself. They both risk their lives for each other, and their relationship leads to a problem only they can solve; because of the exceptionally strong friendship between a human and a fairy. This series (especially book 3) involved a lot of thinking to understand, but overall, I loved these books. They’re all about differences and how to overcome them, and powerful friendships between a girl and a mythical being.

Has anyone seen Jessica Jenkins? is about having super-powers, being able to turn invisible, stop time, fly, read minds and more, all because of Jessica’s mum’s midwife! This book has some tricky scientific words, and some strange concepts, but it was a great read. I very much enjoyed it and I wish there was a sequel.

A year without Autumn is about a girl called Jenni, who finds that she’s lost a year of her life and doesn’t know how it happened. Jenni and Autumn were the closest of friends, before time tore them apart. It was a bit scary at times, but overall I really liked this book.

North of Nowhere is about time travel and a teenager called Mia. It’s about travelling back in time 50 years without realising and facing the consequences, and the bizarre things that happen. What would happen if your grandmother travelled forward in time 50 years? I liked this book, and it also was about a friendship that didn’t start well, but ended up strong (even though the two girls never meet!). I’d recommend this book to girls and boys around the same age as Mia, from 11 to about 14/15, as it involves interesting adventure and the scary thought of a family member leaving you.