Hootcat Hill
by by Lucy Coats
Linnet's life seems at once strange and yet normal. She lives in Wyrmesbury, a town that suffers from the strangest earthquakes. Her father brews strange beers that cause very odd side effects in their drinkers and the villagers are a very secretive group. As well as this, she doesn't fit in at school but has two good friends who stick up for her. So life for Linnet is different, perhaps unusual, yet at the same time she could be just like many other ordinary teenagers the world over.
What marks Linnet out as being really special is that she is the only girl born in the village for seven years. She has one blue and one green eye a trefoil mole behind one ear and, as the reader later discovers, a streak of white hair. According to the 'Prophecies of the Seven' Linnet is The Maiden Guardian. She must subdue the Worldwyrm and enter the world of Aavalon to restore peace and order to her own world and the realm of Faery. Is she strong enough? Is she willing to accept the gifts that she, as Maiden has been given? Is she able to complete the tasks that await her? All Linnet has really ever wanted to do is fit in. By accepting her role will she not be acting contrary to her own desires?
Hootcat Hill is a magnificent debut novel from a writer who gives every indication of being a very talented storyteller. Lucy Coats has taken the many elements of a typical teenager's life - eccentric parents, life in a small village, bullying and trouble at school - blending them with myth, folklore and magic to create a compelling, captivating novel full of excitement, action and adventure. This book is firmly rooted in fantasy and magic yet it is also a breathtaking adventure story full of twists and turns.
Lucy Coats has a fantastic imagination, and the fluency with which the story is told ensures that the reader is swept along and drawn in with ease. Hootcat Hill is fast paced, well written and easy to read. It is packed with likeable and lovable characters, some of which are pure fantasy, others that readers will be able to identify with. The story is unique yet in many ways familiar and will appeal to an audience of age 9 . It is a book that I would highly recommend reading over and again and the first ten year old I recommended it to agrees!