October and her father live in total harmony with their woodland home, growing the food they need, coppicing the trees and bartering with the local farmer. Written in Katya Balen’s heart-stoppingly beautiful style, this book is a feast for the senses, filled with the woodsmoke smell of crisp autumn mornings and the sound of wellies squelching in river mud.

This book explores mature themes in an implicit way that is integrated beautifully and appropriately into the story. I haven't charted out my visits for the summer term, but I'm sure there are several in the south) and thanks so much for being so fantastic! The other character to mention is the owl Stig, an obvious parallel to October herself: lost and abandoned on its mother’s death, the baby barn owl is cared for by October and even brought to London on her father’s accident. I expected to absolutely love this but I never really could get emotionally invested with the story.A terrible accident on October’s 11th birthday rips her away from the shelter of the woods and transplants October and her rescued barn owl, Stig, into the grey suburbs of London and the stark white home of her estranged mother. I know not everything has a perfect ending and I know that some things have a perfect place and that some things don’t and that all this can change anyway. possibly the best father/daughter relationship i've ever read, a very relatable and painful portrayal of anxiety, guilt and abandonment and the heart-full feeling of loving someone and something you protect. From the gorgeous cover on the front, to the beautiful writing inside, this is an extraordinary book about a young girl raised in the forest by her father.

As in life, tragedy and hope sit alongside one another and whilst hope wins out in the end, my hope broke for October and her parents along the way. What I really liked about this one is the fact that the author made the voice feel so child-like and yet still really beautiful and lyrical. I was at my last school for 4 years and we had ********* book fairs every term – and every term, I was disappointed by the narrow range of books.She's the only one who can solve this mystery, and she'll need help from the only other member of the family with good instincts - Dave the dog. October lives with her father deep in the woods; her mother, unable to cope with living ‘wild’, left when October was small and although she does try to keep in contact with her daughter, October doesn’t want to have anything to do with her mother.