Kat Wolfe and Harper Lamb are back for another adventure in the third instalment. You can expect friendship, huskies, nature and snow – lots of snow.
For the first time in the series, the girls have gone state side. Their trip to the Adirondacks – a wilderness in New York – begins with one disaster and only gets worse. Events spiral out of control leaving the girls stranded in a cabin on their own. What’s more, due to a pretty massive mix-up, they end up caring for a team of huskies. This gives them the opportunity to put their skill sets together and figure out what is going on in a diamond heist that is gripping the nation. This story has the feel of a proper adventure – there is just the right amount of danger that the audience want to see how the situation is resolved, but not so much that young readers will be afraid to read it after lights out. It took me back to the days when I used to hide books under the bed covers and read past bedtime – I just wanted to know what was going on and who was responsible for what.
The characters have developed since the start of the series: the girls are now such firm friends that they are sister-like. They know each other inside out – weaknesses as well as strengths.
Lauren St John’s stories have always had environmental themes and themes of animal rescue, but this series also focuses on social prejudice. The people at the centre of this mystery all have traits that mean they get overlooked by society, or that people judge them with prejudice at the fore. It is exciting to see authors responding to social injustice without it being overtly stated. Books offer children safe spaces to think about and question their own attitudes.
For those not familiar with the series, it centres around the two girls, although new characters feature in each episode – in this story we meet Riley, who has two sides to her life and simply wants to spend more time out in nature. The books always introduce new animal friends. Animals are a staple of the series and of St John’s stories. As ever, she writes the animal characters with respect and love.
As I was reading this book I formed theory after theory, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages until I had the solution. I’m always excited to see a new book from Lauren St John and they are stories I would have adored in my childhood.
- Kat Wolfe On Thin Ice is available now from Macmillan Children’s Books UK. RRP. £7.99 (Provided for review)
