Cassie Engel lives in an unusual house, high on a rock on the edge of a little town called Edenberg. The Bavarian Forest crowds close around the town, dark and brooding.

The house is a hotchpotch of rooms built by her great-great grandfather – an accomplished inventor. There are gizmos and gadgets, a special lift that races up and down on steam and levers and also an owlery – a room dedicated to 38 stuffed owls. Despite her mother’s misgivings, Cassie’s grandfather told her to never get rid of the owls.

Cassie has learnt how to keep her unique home in running order, checking the boilers and oiling the gears that drive everything from deep in the basement. No-one else will do it. Her mother  is an opera singer, spending much of her time in her music room right at the top of the house, singing or demanding things from their only servant. Her father wanders the house, not as he used to be after returning from the war. Grandma is here too, bedridden next to another clunking and clanking machine that keeps her alive.

One day a storm strikes, bringing not only sheets of rain but a winged creature that taps on Cassie’s bedroom window. Cassie instantly messages her friend Raphael in Edenberg to come and see the tiny thing. Morse code is very handy for this, and she’s glad her grandfather taught her many years before.

Raphael and Cassie have always been friends, and together they lug giant leather books off the home’s expansive library shelves. What on earth is this creature? With four tiny wings and a small body in rustled feathers it is nothing like the owls. It has papery hands and feet and a pale face. Could it really be what it says in the books – a cherub?

They soon begin to realise the creature has arrived for a reason, but not why. A secret stretching back generations is soon to be revealed, bringing wonder and awe, but also fear and sadness. Cassie has a battle ahead to keep her family and best friend safe. Again and again she must face the Sturmfalken, hawk/crow-like birds that stalk her across the skies. Smelling like rotten meat, it seems as if they are waiting for something to happen. When it does, this entire family is tossed about like the tips of the trees around them in a storm.

Fledgling is like nothing I’ve ever read. Sure, I’ve read stories where strange creatures, tiny dragons, puppies or pussycats are found, but this is deliciously different.

There are malevolent forces just waiting to be allowed to attack. They are waiting for something else too, which was far from my imaginings for this story. This is a debut novel and a stunning one at that. The characters are unique in quirky ways, and the house they live in, almost a character in itself.

This tale kept me intrigued, surprising me again and again as age-old secrets are revealed.

Perfect for advanced young readers 8+. There are some scary bits in this fantasy story, and it’s not for gentle souls, despite the beautiful, silver feather on the cover.

Author – Lucy Hope

Age – 10+

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(2022, Allen & Unwin, Nosy Crow, Birds, Feathers, Fantasy creatures, Bavaria, Wings, Angels, Age old Guardians, Inventions, Owls, Steam, Levers, Gadgets, Action, Blended Family, Courage, family, Fantasy, Friendship, Historical, Music, Singing, Mystery, Secret)