Published By: Hodder Children’s Books
Pages: 288
Released On: 13/02/2025
Reading Age: 9+
As the Ninth Dreamer, Jayben is the only one who can defeat Null, the evil villain who has been making everyone in the Elf World forget. But the crystals that give Jayben his power are quickly fading, and he needs to uncover the missing words from the Book of Dreamers to finally free everyone from Null’s curse.
When Jayben finds an electrifying blue stone, he quickly learns that it can transport him anywhere in the blink of an eye – but it can be dangerous unless used properly.
Hearing of a magical elixir that can restore his crystals to full strength, Jayben sets out on a quest with his friends to find it and the missing words. But Null’s ally is racing to get to the elixir first and the words are scattered across the five realms of the Elf World. And it seems as if something – or someone – is preventing Jayben from succeeding.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder Children’s Books for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love the Jayben series – I bought the first one Jayben and the Golden Torch for myself, and then I received a gifted copy of the sequel Jayben and the Star Glass. I’ve said in my previous reviews, and I will repeat here, that I have been having seizures (like Jayben) since 2022. And whilst I wasn’t having them as a child, I can’t imagine how scary it must be for young people, and to see a child with seizures in a book, as a hero rather than just a side-piece, must mean a lot.
Once again, Thomas has lead us into the story nicely. He’s minded us of what happened previously without regurgitating it. It means we can get straight back into the world and with the characters without too much preamble.
I am more than three times the recommended reading age but I love this series. It’s so fun and magical, doesn’t skimp on the scary, and doesn’t hide away from the difficulties we all face.
It’s not very long, and for my reading level, I can read it in a couple of hours. But even for children and younger readers it’s a fast-paced, easy-to-read story.
I enjoyed the comparisons between the Elf World and the real world; we get to see more about how they interact with each other, for good and bad, and we see how some characters manage to inhabit both.
We’ve got all the main players from the previous books which adds an element of familiarity, but we’ve also got news, and my favourite addition has to be Mr Tickety, who we meet on a train with Jayben. I know first appearances can deceive but I loved him almost instantly.
There’s a lot more heart to this one. There’s still action and adventure and magic and danger, but it’s a lot more to do with Jayben and his emotions and struggles, his family and friends, how they all feel. It adds yet another layer of depth to the story. Because fantasy is all well and good but only if the characters are strong enough to compete with it, and they do.
This one isn’t all positivity. In books we tend to have our characters succeed at everything, and the goodies be the goodies and the baddies be baddies. But this book proves that you don’t have to succeed and be good at everything all the time. That there is nothing to be ashamed of in failing, and that’s very important for young readers.
I can definitely see this as a kids TV show. I originally thought a movie, but I think you can do more with a TV show, especially for children who may not have a long attention span. I think it would work so well.
This is the last one in the series and whilst it ends perfectly, I’d love more. It’s such a fun world to lose yourself in and I look forward every year to the next installment. So I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Thomas does next.
Books By Your Bedside 