In Review: Glister and the Faerie Host

Glister and the Faerie Host
by Andi Watson
Published by Walker Books
Out: Now

The Book: It's coming up to Halloween and already Glister's father is bustling around getting ready for Christmas! The Butterworths are putting up decorations for the tree and making preparations for the big day, but Glister is sad – her mother is missing and Christmas just wouldn't be the same without her. She's determined to find her mum and solve the mystery of her disappearance.

However, boundary changes in the area mean Faerieland and Whixleyshire's borders now meet right outside Glister's front door. Once Glister has ventured into Faerieland in search of her beloved lost mum, very strange things start to happen and her biggest challenge will be finding her way home again...

The Review: This is the third book in a quirky, funny series for girls starring Glister Butterworth – girl-magnet for the weird and unusual.

Glister and the Faerie Host draws on Greek myth (the legend of Persophone springs immediately to mind) and the concept of a physical Faerie world in our own you can visit if you dare we've seen else where (Neil Gaiman's Stardust, for example, but there are many others). While this might seem like treading old ground, Andi Watson, whose recent credits include work for Image and Marvel, has drawn on many rich folklore elements and created a wonderful new world with his own Glister series - tales aimed at young adults I'd argue were ideal for getting them "into" comics, as well as being superb stories in their own right.

In this latest tale, Glister takes on the Faerie King to find her mother, braving the worst the kingdom of the Faerie (now nearer to home thanks to Council boundary changes!) can throw at her. The art is gorgeous: some of the scenes - even quiet ones, where Glister is talking to her mother's 'ghost' in her bedroom - are lovingly rendered, and the scripting is knockout. (Andi's description of the coming autumn, for example - a small thing, but fab - and the whole sorry tale of how Glister's mother went missing in the first place.

There are also some great extras in the book (you can find more Glister extras on Andi's LJ blog, and on the Walker Books web site), including "Glister Vs The Toll Troll" and "Home to Roost", two short stories. All in all it's a great little package for little hands, as well as soppy old gits like me blown away by decent storytelling.

Glister and the Family Tree is the next in the series and it's out on 1st March. Can't wait!

• Buy Glister: The Faerie Host from amazon.co.uk

More Glister Books

• Glister: The Haunted Teapot
Preview: http://bit.ly/7oIUVM

• Glister: The House Hunt
Preview: http://bit.ly/4HhSnK

• Glister: The Family Tree
Out 1st March 2010

• Andi Watson's Official web site: www.andiwatson.biz

• Glister Official Blog