"A little bit Narnia-esque, ‘The Old Umbrella’ leaves everything perfectly ready for the next book in the series ‘The Red Leaf’, and I think that readers enchanted by this book will have found a great new series to follow. "
The Extraordinary Happenings of Peter Oddfellow: The Old Umbrella by Mark Dorey is part of the wider Extraordinary Happening of Peter Oddfellow series. In this first book, ‘The Old Umbrella’ we are introduced to Peter Oddfellow and join him on his adventure into a strange new world with the help of a rather useless looking umbrella. This is a very imaginative fantasy novel that I think will be a great read for teens and adults alike. 14-year old Peter doesn’t feel like he fits in, and after waking up in hospital with two broken legs and amnesia he doesn’t expect to be transported on an adventure with a motley crew of friends. I really enjoyed this book. I found all of the characters, their clashing personalities that still managed to come together when needed, entertaining and funny. I particularly liked Mulg and found his disgust at his feline form quite funny. The events of the novel, while Peter is in a world we would all find familiar, is set in the 1980s, which I found to be an interesting element and made the story feel more traditional to me. A little bit Narnia-esque, ‘The Old Umbrella’ leaves everything perfectly ready for the next book in the series ‘The Red Leaf’, and I think that readers enchanted by this book will have found a great new series to follow. I would recommend this book to fans of teen and YA fantasy adventures.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Fantasy |
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