Sam Llewellyn (1) (1948–)

The Darling children –
Daisy (12 ½), - oldest and a pro in nanny hating, and excels in managing things.
Cassian (11 ¼) – his expertise in the combo of mechanical/explosives is a major plus when he creates booby-traps and systems for special situations.
Primrose (10) – shines as a cook/chemist when she concocts some deadly recipes.
These talents become necessary when Papa Darling and his new wife leave the children under the care of Nanny Pete.

Nanny Pete is from AAA Ardvark Child Minding show more and Security. There is more to Nanny Pete than a brown bowler and the blue Mark 2 Jaguar parked on the curb. Nanny has an eye for expensive things such as silver, furnishings and the like. Seems AAA Ardvark nannies aren’t just your usual nannies. They also have some special skills which the three Darlings learn about, in real time, when they find themselves involved with a cruise ship of burglars, stolen goods, a stuffed teddy bear and other elements of a wild caper.

The various “skills” of the children come in handy in getting through the adventure and solving the mystery of the very rare teddy bear. To my there is a taste of Lemony Snickett and Raold Dahl with a British accent. Definitely not boring. show less

Reviewed by Shyanne for TeensReadToo.com

This is the story of a boy who was raised in a fishing town with a loving family. He was your average twelve-year-old who liked adventures and playing with friends after school.

Little did he know that this current adventure had just begun. With a twist of events, this young boy was fighting for his life and finding out things about himself that put him and everyone that knew him in more danger than ever before.

I greatly enjoyed this book. At times it show more lacked detail and became hard to follow, but overall it was a great book.

It shows the real side of humans. Some are out to help people and others are there to only help themselves. It is a nice change to your classic 'monster' story or King Arthur tale. Many books have the same theme and you can predict what is going to happen way before it does. With THE WELL BETWEEN THE WORLDS, though, it is another story.

The plot is different from anything I have ever read and I loved it. It was also unpredictable for the most part. There are times where I was sure that I knew what the main character was going to do but was surprisingly wrong and a new twist unfolded. I could not put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next and what this young boy was going to do.

I can't wait for the next book in the LYONESSE series to come out so I can discover where this young hero's journey veers off to next. show less

The land of Lyonesse is sinking. The poisonous water beneath is rising up through the wells, bringing monsters up with it. As a result of *not* drowning after accidentally falling from a great height into the sea, twelve-year-old Idris of Westgate is condemned to death by the Town Captain, accused of being a "Cross" -- part human, part monster. Thrown into a watery cavern and left for dead, Idris is rescued just in the nick of time and whisked covertly away by a mysterious stranger into an show more unknown future.

This is a fresh, quirky twist on Arthurian legend, recommended for middle-school-aged readers who may wish to try some light fantasy. I would have liked to learn more about the nature of the world within the wells, its beastly inhabitants and their perception of this "upper" world where humans reside. Perhaps this will be explored more deeply in the second book. show less

I read this novel as it was set in the Scilly Isles, which I visited this summer; indeed, most of the action on the Scillies is set on Tresco, probably my favourite of the inhabited isles. The time is the late 1820s and into the 1830s, when Scilly was transformed by the arrival as proprietor of Augustus Smith, here portrayed as a ruthless tyrant, though now generally highly regarded as having improved the previously dire economic life of the islanders. The hero Nicholas Power is an Irish show more doctor, who later fights Smith's new policies, but has his own secretive past, escaping from which cast him onto Tresco's bleak northern shores in a shipwreck in the first place. The novel gave quite a good feel for the uniqueness of Scillonian life, the sense of isolation and independence, even on the part of the Trescoites (if there is such a word) towards the island authorities on St Mary's. The middle third of the novel is set in the American goldrush and was my least favourite part, but was still quite readable. Overall 4/5 show less