'Deryn’s father is the lighthouse keeper on Featherstone Island, keeping the lantern lit to protect passing boats from the treacherous rocky coastline. But when an emergency arises and her parents have to travel to the mainland for help, Deryn is left alone to keep watch over the lighthouse, and she finds herself in a terrible situation when the lamp runs out of oil during a wild storm. With a fishing boa t in peril on the sea, and time running out to rescue those on board, Deryn seeks help from an unusual source.'
Featherlight is the latest children's book from publisher Barrington Stoke, and combines an interesting historical setting with a story from magical myth to create an enjoyable standalone adventure.
The book follows Deryn, a young girl living on the remote Featherstone Island, a small, rocky piece of land near the coast. Her father is the lighthouse keeper for the island, and Deryn spends her days helping her mother around their cottage, learning to keep the lighthouse from her father, and exploring the confines of the island and watching the animals that live there.
Deryn's routine is completely turned upside-down when her mother goes into labour, and her father has to take her to the mainland to give birth. This leaves Deryn alone on the island to tend to the lighthouse. Knowing that lives might depend on her, Deryn settles into a new routine of keeping the lighthouse light at night, and making sure that everything stays safe.
When Deryn encounters a strange bird, however, things begin to take an odd turn, and she soon discovers that their might be more to this bird than she first suspected. And when a fishing boat gets in trouble off the coast of Featherstone one stormy night Deryn is forced into action.
The story of Featherlight was inspired by the real lives of both Grace Darling and Ida Lewis, two female lighthouse keepers from history, and the book not only shows young readers what life was like on such places day to day, with things such as the daily maintenance of the equipment, but also what could happen if things went wrong at sea. Yet it also throws in some elements from myths and legends to create something that feels both true to life, yet kind of magical too.
We spend most of the time with Deryn, and with her being the only person on the island for good portions of the book we really get a chance to get into her head and get to know her. Whilst this was a lot of fun it also left me feeling a little disappointed that we only got 100 pages with her, as she was such an interesting and engaging protagonist that I'd have been more than happy to spend even longer with her. And I think the younger readers will feel this way too, that they'll like Deryn and enjoy the time they spend with her on Featherstone.
Featherlight is an enjoyable book, one that's easy to read and manages to pack a lot into its shorter length. Whilst it is designed for younger readers I think people of any age will find something to enjoy here, as they learn about the running of old lighthouses, and get to know what life was like for the people who made protecting and saving others their lives.
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