Wulfie Stage Fright by Lindsay J Sedgwick

10 year old Libby lives with her absent minded dad, her cruel stepmother, Veronica, and her bullying stepbrother, Rex.

She is an Irish Cinderella, forced to do all the chores in the house, put up with Rex’s constant torments, and go to bed hungry in her attic bedroom.

Will the discovery of a naughty wulfen – a purple wolf like creature with wondrous abilities – make her life better?

This is a super fun children’s book. Despite its intended audience, it has surprising depth and the world building leaves lots of scope for further exciting adventures.

Libby has a hard life, and I know her bad treatment would have upset me as a child. I liked that the author wrote about realistic scenarios – neglect, bullying, not fitting in – without trivializing them or making them too dark.

I also appreciated how sympathetic Sedgwick was to all the characters. Even though some of them are horrible, she isn’t nasty about them, and Libby’s growth throughout the tale is wonderful.

Of course, Wulfie steals the show, and who wouldn’t fall in love with the purple size changing wolf like creature who smells wonderful after eating smelly socks? I think Wulfie merchandise would sell very well.

I would have loved this book as a child, but there’s plenty to enjoy as an adult too – the drama teacher, who could have been Anakin Skywalker until the director found out she was a girl, kept me chuckling – and the strong story will make this book a classic.

The writer has a background in scriptwriting, and it shows, because this is a novel begging to be out loud. I’m sorry I don’t have anyone to read to.

I award Wulfie Stage Fright…