Book review

The Brugan by Stephen Moore (1999)

A bit of a tricky pet to keep is a brugan. For a start, he's bright green, foul-smelling and can work amazingly strong magic. Also, nobody else can see him apart from you. Well, you might think that is a good thing, but don't try asking your mum if she will please knock a hole in the cottage wall to make a brugan-flap, because she won't be very amused. And that is pretty much what this book is about.

After Sarah's father dies, she moves with her mother and new stepfather to a cottage in the country to make a fresh start. But there's something really queer about this cottage. It's got four doors, north, south, east and west, almost as if it were some kind of crossing point. And there is a local who seems to think she is in charge of the place. But she's invisible too.

Slowly Sarah begins to discover the ancient secret of the cottage she is living in, and the consequences that flow from living at a fairy crossroad. When she rescues the young brugan from its dying mother she finds that to set it on its way, she must confront her mother and stepfather, and the ancient Stoneguard itself - mysterious standing stones guarding The Place of the Crossings.

This is an exciting little story which works on two levels, because not only do we have to worry about whether Sarah can save her brugan, but also we need to see Sarah settle down with her stepfather, without ever forgetting that she once had a very wonderful father of her own.

What can I read next?

If you like magical pets, I think you will also enjoy this one by Stephen Elboz:

And E Nesbit's psammead (pronounced sammyadd) might also keep you happily occupied:

You could have a look at anything by Alan Temperley:

Also, anything by Helen Cresswell might suit you:

Finally, Clive King wrote a good book:

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