Grace’s family have an important job. Grace, her mum and big brother Bren are Wardens of the Griffin Map. Grace’s grandmother invented the map which lies on a huge table showing all the towns and villages of Moreland.

If any town is in trouble and needing assistance, they can call for help and a gate symbol will glow on the map. Each gate is a portal and the Griffin family leaps into action and travels through the map to help.

There is serious training involved in becoming a Warden. At 13 Grace is just as good, if not better than her 15 year old brother at combat, first aid and other honed skills, but rules are rules and she has to wait two more years before she can attend any missions.

Fed up and sick of waiting, when an opportunity arises to use the map, Grace grabs it, taking her trusty (mechanical) pet raven Watson with her.

A small town claims a monster has been terrorising them. Grace investigates, keen to finally prove herself. All is not how it seems however and Grace stumbles across a plot not only to undermine her entire family as Wardens but to steal the Griffin Map too.

An age-old story of a younger sibling trying to prove herself, with an ingenious fantasy twist. The setting is a place of mechanical animals, inventive gadgets, and portals. A touch of Steampunk!

This is the first in an illustrated chapter book series where a young teen called Grace faces danger and mystery, digging deep for courage as she finally travels on missions of her own.

A Dyslexic Read – Reading Age 8 – Interest Age 8-12 – 104 Pages

Author – Vashti Hardy

Illustrator – Natalie Smillie

Read the first Chapter here

Read a review for the next book in the series (Click on the Cover)

(2020, Barrington Stoke, Fantasy, Family, Action, Betrayal, Courage, Mystery, Series, Dyslexic, Dyslexia, Portals, Gadgets, Map, Raven, Sibling Rivalry, Danger, Monster, Mechanical)