Book review: A Hole in the World – Sophie Robbins

Princess Alexandra of Calpaea has been kidnapped by an evil enchantress and is now trapped in a cave, guarded over by trolls. When she is finally rescued it wasn’t the prince charming she was expecting, but a 16 year old English teenager named Bianca.

Bianca was four when she first discovers the hole in the wall near the centre of her town, yet eleven years later it still shows up in her dreams. Sent home in disgrace from boarding school, she is still picking up the pieces of her life when the urge to explore the hole overtakes her. Unbeknownst to her, the hole in the wall is really a hole between worlds and inside is a princess waiting to be saved.

The book is a modern day fairy tale with a twist. Bianca and her friends are imminently likeable and faced with the prospect of a princesses death, are more than willing to go into battle. Weighed down with backpacks and smoke bombs, the four teenagers battle flying reptiles, rats, trolls and tentacles to save a kingdom. I suspect this book was written for teenagers, but I, as an adult, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Review by Ida Raine