Book review of Tree Slayer by Harriet Springbett

Tree Slayer by Harriet Springbett

My review today is for Tree Slayer, the second novel from Harriet Springbett, that carries on from where book one, Tree Magic, left off. Rainbow, a young girl who has an extraordinary bond with trees, is about to take her Baccalaureate exams at lycee in Cognac, when a huge storm hits the west of France, felling hundreds of trees. Despite the reservations from those around her, and her plans for the future, she knows her destiny lies with finding her soulmate in the Pyrenees and working together to defeat the Tree Slayer.

Eighteen-year-old Eole is happiest when he’s alone, with his dog, on the high pastures of his beloved mountains. This summer too much has changed in his life for him to cope with. He has lost his friend Tintin, who was helping him prepare for university, his mum has something to tell him about his past and then he meets Rainbow. Tree Slayer is their journey through France; two slightly different teenagers, who must understand each other’s gifts and learn how to work together on a mission to save the trees.

 

I really enjoyed being back with Rainbow and much as I loved Tree Magic, this book is even better. There is a little bit of magic in every page as Harriet pushes the boundaries of reality in a totally convincing way, and challenges what we perceive to be normal. So much thought has gone into the words, descriptions and characters, especially the logic that makes Eole tick, resulting in a book that opens your mind to an alternative way of thinking. I wish I’d read it in my teens, not that I didn’t enjoy it now, I loved it, but I know it would have been one of those special books of my childhood that would have stayed in my memories forever. I can’t wait for book three in the series.

 

Any 14-18-year-old with a healthy imagination will, I’m sure, love this book, (as well as Tree Magic), but I’d encourage you to read it too, whatever your age. We are never too old to get lost in a world where trees can talk and those special enough to hear them have a message for us all.

 

Tree Magic and Tree Slayer are published by Impress Books and links to Amazon can be found below. Harriet will be joining me here on Friday to talk about her love of France and all things French.