Publication Date: 28 May 2020

The Blurb

Welcome to the Badlands … a hidden part of our world full of creatures which most people think exist only in fairy tales and nightmares.

Ruby is trying to change the future. Her fate is in the hands of the council as they prepare to decide once and for all if girls can be Badlanders too.
Jones is running from his past. He’s determined to help Ruby fulfil her destiny, but first he will need to shake off the vengeful ghost of Maitland, the Master he betrayed.
 
Then they are challenged to solve a notoriously unsolvable case from The Book of Mysteries, and Ruby and Jones think it might just be the lifeline they need. But there’s a reason no Badlander has ever returned from Great Walsingham, and the two friends will have to rely on more than magic if they want to survive…

The Review

The final installment from the Badlands drops us straight into the action with Ruby and Jones, and reminds us how precarious Ruby’s position as a Badlander is. The greatest mystery to outfox the Badlanders is the gauntlet thrown at her if she is to change the Ordnung and allow equality for girls and women in the future.

Supernatural beings, powerful enemies and dark magic had me on the edge of my seat as every turn of the page drew me further into the dangerous world at the edge of our own, and then to a world beyond that with eerily familiar characters that most will recognise.

The power of courage, trust, forgiveness and friendship to forge our own path and be the best we can be shines as they meet up with an old enemy in the worst of circumstances.  Ruby’s determination to succeed sees them gain a powerful ally in their mission to solve the mystery surrounding Great Walsingham.

Ruby’s resolve to be the best Badlander she can be and prove that girls deserve the same rights as boys, with the ultimate aim of getting the other Badlanders to not only change the Ordnung, but accept female apprenices within their ranks, resonates with real life, and could be linked in the classroom to both the suffragette movement and Malaya Yousafzai’s fight for girls right to education.

Great for fans of

Want to know more? Here’s J.R. Wallis’ 3rd reading from The Book Of Mysteries. If you have missed the previous readings you can find the first   on Bookmonsters blog and the second at Mr Ripley’s Enchanted Books. You’ll find the fourth tomorrow at Tales Before Bedtime.

Do make sure you check out the amazing guest post from J.R. Wallis all about words here, with details of how you could win yourself a signed copy!