Never mind the younger reader, this older reader absolutely adored the first four chapters of this fantasy adventure and was left dying for more! This definitely sounds like a book that can be enjoyed by adults and the 9 – 14 year old target audience alike. I read the first impression pages with a smile firmly fixed on my face as I was introduced to Peregrine Quinn and her immortal godfather Daedalus Bloom outside Portal 9 in the Bodleian library. The writing style is imaginative, descriptive and immersive – “her arms began to prickle as if a thousand spiders were tap-dancing across her skin”. The characters are quirky and fun, from the tree nymph librarian sedated from guzzling doctored jelly beans to Callimachus Thorn - “Cal looked sheepish, which in itself is quite an odd look for a faun.” And if that wasn’t enough to be going on with we discover that Daedalus is the proprietor of Bloom’s Plant Clinic and a regular panellist on Gardener’s Question Time – “Kitchen herbs preferred to grow to the sound of nineties hip-hop between four and seven in the morning.” What a gem and not just a stand-alone book but the first in a series! Love it!