Magic · Non-Fiction

Beyond The Wand – Tom Felton ★★★★★

Blurb; They called for a break, and Gambon magicked up a cigarette from out of his beard. He and I were often to be found outside the stage door, having ‘a breath of fresh air’, as we referred to it. There would be painters and plasterers and chippies and sparks, and among them all would be me and Dumbledore having a crafty cigarette.

From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.

Speaking with candour and his own trademark humour, Tom shares his experience of growing up on screen and as part of the wizarding world for the very first time. He tells all about his big break, what filming was really like and the lasting friendships he made during ten years as part of the franchise, as well as the highs and lows of fame and the reality of navigating adult life after filming finished.

Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.

My Review; Calling all potterheads this one is for you. But don’t worry it’s not all just about the Potter world but a large part of it is. There is a foreword by Emma Watson. Tom has included a lot of photos in the book too. It’s a fast read with a lot of behind the scenes stories and stories of Tom growing up before he found fame. What hit me the most is a few chapters at the end where Tom was very open, honest and raw about what he had to go through and I applaud him for that. It takes guts to write a book and make people laugh, tear up, learn new things behind the scenes and see the potter world in a whole new light whilst being honest about the whole thing. A must buy. A must read. Highly recommend. A well deserved five stars.

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Adapted to film · Bestsellers · Magic

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves ★★★★

Blurb: The official complete screenplay of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore by J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves, accompanied by illuminating behind-the-scenes content and commentary.

Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world. Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches, and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald’s growing legion of followers. But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?

The official screenplay of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the ultimate companion to the film, and invites readers to explore every scene of the complete script penned by J.K. Rowling & Steve Kloves. Special features include behind-the-scenes content and commentary from David Yates, David Heyman, Jude Law, Eddie Redmayne, Colleen Atwood, and more.

My Review: I was so excited to see this on the shelves in tesco and I devoured it in a night. A brilliant read. An easy read, written in screenplay format. Contains some beautiful illustrations throughout of the characters and places within the story. It was amazing to be back in the wizard magical world. Now I can watch the film to compare. A well deserved four stars.

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Children's · fantasy · Magic · Short Stories

Isadora Moon and the Shooting Star – Harriet Muncaster ★★★★

Blurb; Isadora Moon is special because she’s different. Her mum is a fairy and her dad is a vampire and she’s a bit of both. Isadora is observing the night sky for a school project – her class is learning everything about space and she decides to look at the stars for inspiration. But wait, what is that? Through the telescope, Isadora spots a shooting star that falls to Earth!

After courageously finding the place where the star landed, Isadora discovers a new twinkling friend. Her name is Nova, she is a Glow Sprite and she is not supposed to be there. Even worse, Nova’s moon kitten Pluto is lost and she needs Isadora’s help to find him.

Between magical campfires, space lessons, moon cheese and a glowing sleepover, Isadora will need to use all her wits to help Nova finding Pluto before her new friend has to fly back to the stars. With irresistible pink and black artwork throughout by author/illustrator Harriet Muncaster and a totally unique heroine with an out-of-this-world family, this is a beautiful, charming, and funny series of first chapter books.

My Review; This is a perfect little read for any little girl at just over 100 pages. Full of magic. Meet Isadora half vampire half fairy. Join her on this magical space adventure where she meets another from the moon. Beautifully illustrated throughout. Easy reading. At the back is lots of activities to do and recipes to make. This is book 14 in a series but each read fine as Standalones. A fun read. A well deserved four stars from me. Highly recommend.

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