Amelia Hester McLeod is named after two of her mum’s favourite explorers. Two amazing, fearless, awesome women: Amelia Earhart and Lady Hester Stanhope.

But Amelia herself doesn’t always feel very brave or very bright. She lives on a windblown island in a creaky old house right beneath the North Star. Her dad is sad and silent since her mum left them, and her absent-minded grandpa suddenly seems convinced something strange is about to happen to her.

When Amelia makes a birthday wish to be reunited with her missing mum, a wild magic is stirred from the sea…

My thoughts:

• LIGHTNING CHASE ME HOME is incredibly powerful. It was one of those reads that I knew I was going to love from the very first chapter. The writing is beautiful, and the story unfolds in a way that makes it almost unputdownable.
• Our heroine, Amelia, is super relatable. She struggles with confidence and the story is really about her finding herself on her own terms. I loved that Amelia had dyslexia. Whilst I don’t have dyslexia myself, both my siblings do–and it was great to see reading aids that I recognised. I mentioned that I was reading a book whose main character had dyslexia to my sister, and she was SO pleased. I know this isn’t news to anyone, but representation matters hugely.
• The magic was weaved into this book brilliantly. It was subtle, but so believable. I adored the juxtaposition between Amelia’s school and home life–the ordinariness of it–and the fantastical elements of Amelia’s new ability.
• This kind of links in with the world-building. The mythology surrounding Dark Muir–the small island where Amelia lives-was incredible. It didn’t feel surface level at all, and I kind of wanted to know all the other legends that surrounded the island!
• My fav character was definitely Pipi. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a canine BFF. I also thought the build-up of the friendship between Amelia and Tom was done beautifully, and in such a realistic way.
• This book was a perfect read to start off 2019--it was infused with bravery and being true to yourself. I really recommend this for fans of Abi Elphinstone–it has that same kind of lyrical storytelling, with great world-building.

*thank you to the lovely folks at Scholastic for sending me a copy to review*