The characters are animals but not all are the
conventional type.
Titch the smallest mouseling in her family, wants to be a warrior.
She practices with her staff of sturdy oak, and pretends she
is Bravepaw, the warrior mentioned in every story she has heard.
With her best friend, Huckleberry, she imagines all
that could be waiting in the world beyond for them to discover and experience,
for no one has ever left the Plateau.
As they stand wondering, a hare on a glider appears.
A sword, and a staff with a crystal on top, are strapped to his back.
The hare warns them about an approaching danger and orders the inhabitants to take up arms.
But they have no arms, only garden
tools.
A dark shadow looms. A swarm of curseworms, known as shadow-eels, attack the hare and overpower him. His staff falls close to Titch. She doesn’t know how to use it. But something inside her surges, and the power of the gem is activated.
The curseworms are forced back over the edge,
leaving the hare extremely ill. He is treated by Huckleberry's Gran.
The hare tells Titch that he is Prince Vetiver, carrying the Heartstone of Alluria back to its home, to mend a crack that has occurred. This crack allowed the curseworms to escape. They steal the colour and life from everything. This gives them power. If they get the gem, Alluria will be destroyed.
The curseworms return and Titch must draw them away from her people. She uses her imagination and finds herself and Huckleberry who blindly follows her, landing in the forest below.
A Bravepaw is needed. The Heartstone has only been activated once before. Because it was activated by Titch, she must be the one to return the Heartstone to Alluria.
But she doesn't know where to go. Monsters are everywhere.
She must trust herself and believe that the Heartstone will lead her where she needs to go.
An epic quest begins.
This promises to be a fantastic illustrated series. Imaginative and full of fast-paced action, the characters are fantastic with carefully chosen names which makes things more exciting.
The stunning, emotive black and white illustrations by Lavanya Naidu, enrich the text.
Watch out for the second book, Bravepaw and the Clawstone
of Rotwood Mire.
Title: Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria
Author: L. M. Wilkinson
Illustrator: Lavanya Naidu
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $
15.99
Publication Date: 3 September 2024
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761180552
For ages: 8+
Type: Junior Fiction