In a place like Candle Island – cold, quiet and full of potential – there’s a mystery around every corner. Alongside lost cats and orphaned birds, secret rooms and suspicious fires, perhaps the biggest mystery of all comes in the form of a 12-year-old girl called Lucretia. Lucretia and her mum – the famously reclusive painter Eliza Sanderson – have moved to Candle Island for a fresh start, but on an island clearly divided between year-round locals and summer holidaymakers, fitting in might be harder than they expected. Thankfully, Lucretia is up to the task, finding her place on the island whether that means befriending the reserved Bastian and his prickly cousin Murdock, standing up to the rude and thoughtless summer kids, or embracing her own creative powers.

Candle Island is a delightfully cosy read that perfectly captures the excitement and strangeness of moving somewhere new, with great characters, compelling mysteries and a fantastic message about self-confidence and empathy. For ages 10+.