We were recently sent a copy of The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott by Sharon Gosling. Little Sis is 10 and a real book worm but she tends to re-read her favourite authors over and over. I thought this would be a great opportunity to discover a new author and share a book together.

The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott

Living among the flowers and ferns of Kew Gardens, Katy has always dreamed of more – of the sky and the stars and the sea. Unfortunately for Katy, her father doesn’t understand. He says young girls should be content to stay at home, not go off gallivanting around the world.

So when news reaches London of a meteorite falling in the faraway land of Brazil and an expedition being put together to find it, Katy knows it’s her chance to follow her dreams and prove her father wrong. And winning a place on the trip is just the start of her extraordinary voyage on the trail of a fallen star…

Lots of things appealed to me from the blurb. Firstly the setting. We just love living in London and are very familiar with the amazing Kew Gardens. Secondly, my daughter loves an adventure! I thought that this would be an inspiring read for her and she would be able to identify with the main character of Katy Willacott.

We’ve been reading the book over the last week and we liked Katy as soon as she said she would rather wear trousers than a skirt. My daughter always wears trousers, here was an adventurous girl just like her! There are lots of strong female characters, including Katy’s mother, botanical taxonomist Mary Willacott, and the adventurer Fran Brocklehurst.

The book deals with several themes, from the role of women in Victorian times, to deforestation of the Amazon, the devastation caused by rubber plantations, colonisation, and taking cultural items for museum collections the other side of the world and more. We enjoyed reading the adventures of Katy Willacott and felt there were lots of points to discuss, as well as being a really good adventure story.

My favourite line was “the world is full of extraordinary women doing extraordinary things”. I think my daughter and I would like to read more adventures of Katy Willacott!

It’s a thrilling historical adventure from the author of The House Of Hidden Wonders, perfect for fans of Katherine Woodfine, Lucy Worsley, Jennifer Bell and Robin Stevens.

The details:
The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott by Sharon Gosling
Published by Little Tiger
ISBN: 9781788954181 / PB / £7.99
This middle grade book is recommended for ages 8-12

The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott blog tour

Little Tiger have organised a blog tour to celebrate the publication of The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott. You can find the other participants below: