Title: The Wild Way Home
Author: Sophie Kirtley
Genre: Fantasy, historical, children’s fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Pages: 256 pages
Publication Date: 1st July 2020
My Rating: 5/5
When Charlie’s longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie’s world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It’s become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins. For Charlie has unwittingly fled into the Stone Age, with no way to help the boy or return to the present day. Or is there … ?
What follows is a wild, big-hearted adventure as Charlie and the Stone Age boy set out together to find what they have lost – their courage, their hope, their family and their way home.
Fans of Piers Torday, Geraldine McCaughrean and Stig of the Dump will love this wild, wise and heartfelt debut adventure.
This was an absolutely stunning MG fantasy book. The writing was beautifully powerful and descriptive, which made for a real feast for the senses. This threw books like Ug and Littlenose to the wayside completely. If I was looking for a Stone Age book to teach with, this would be high up on the list. It doesn’t just show you a view of the Stone Age, it highlights the importance of family and friendship too!
The blurb sold me on this book and I’m so glad I got the chance to read it. Charlie has always longed for a younger sibling and when his sibling is born with a chronic illness, he doesn’t know what to do or how to cope. He runs into the familiar forest near the hospital and is transported back in time after seeing a young boy lying upside down in the stream.
I was so emotionally invested in this book and the gorgeous characters. Charlie has such a wonderfully supportive family and such a great bond with the mystery character he finds in the forest. I absolutely loved the fact this book kept me guessing throughout.
A brilliant book that is well worth reading!
Books and Bookends 
Thank you for encouraging me to read this book – what a great review of a smashing story.
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