'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Review: Leaf Letters

Leaf Letters is a beautiful junior fiction novel exploring the joys and challenges of friendship in a special and engaging way.

Nine-year-old Hazel hasn’t spoken to her best friend Olivia since Olivia did a bad thing Hazel can’t forgive. These days she keeps to herself, taking her camera into the wild and snapping pictures of interesting things she sees.

Her hobby leads her to Cole, a strange boy who communicates in an unusual way, and a mystery box that contains a range of puzzles that will lead Hazel and Cole to its owner.

Together, they work on the puzzle. But building new friendships is hard, especially when you communicate differently and when you’re secretly missing the best friend you left behind.

This is a stunning and unique JF story. Hazel’s photos and drawings feature throughout. And all the puzzles she must decipher with Cole are provided for the reader to solve along side them. The answers are at the back so you can check how you did. It’s highly interactive and loads of fun.

Packed with mystery, puzzles and entertainment, Leaf Letters is a fresh approach to junior fiction. It's a great one for reluctant and new readers and would also work extremely well shared with a classroom of kids. 

Title: Leaf Letters
Author/Illustrator: Lorena Carrington
Publisher: Christmas Press, $16.99
Publication Date: July 2024
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780645378887
For ages: 7 - 11
Type: Junior Fiction