Set on a small British island in the mid 1980s, Avery tells the story of twin brothers Ned and Jamie and their final adventure. Ned is sick, and the brothers hope that the discovery of a mysterious creature from the sea will somehow save him. This is an emotionally complex, beautifully bittersweet story, sublimely illustrated throughout by Kate Grove.

Not As We Know It is a thematically big book, but is appealingly simply written, making it an easy read that achieves much more than I think it set out to.

Isobel Moore