The Light Between Worlds

Gr 8 Up–During a bombing raid on London at the end of World War II, Evelyn and Philippa Hapwell, along with their brother Jamie, were transported to a magical realm called the Woodlands. There they stayed for six years, fighting a war against the mighty Tarsan Empire alongside Cervus, the Guardian of the Woodlands. But now, they've abruptly returned home, to the exact point in time they were swept away from, and ever since then, they've struggled to adjust to life in England. Jamie and Philippa just want to forget the Woodlands. But Evelyn, who fiercely believes that she belongs there, just wants to go back, and spends her days wandering the woods searching for reentry. When Evelyn goes missing, Philippa must confront the fissures in the Hapwell children's lives—and come to terms with the fact that either Evelyn did find a way back, or was consumed by the grief that had haunted her since their return. In this emotional and poignant debut, Weymouth explores the story that The Chronicles of Narnia did not tell: how would someone cope with returning to the real world after living their lives in a magical realm? Told in alternating flashbacks between life in the Woodlands and life in England, the lyrical and moving prose paints a portrait of a family torn apart desperately struggling to heal itself.