Review: Luna by Holly Webb

Luna is a magical, heart-warming time-slip adventure of one girl’s journey to save an adorable bear cub, and is a story I absolutely adored, and can see being enjoyed by young readers and their families as they snuggle up to read this on a cold evening – perhaps with a hot chocolate!

Hannah and her family are visiting the Christmas market in Dresden, which is breathtakingly captured, when she is shown a small wooden bear puppet by a stallholder. Both fierce and beautiful, she is inextricably drawn to the bear puppet, and becomes its new owner.  However, after a fight with her younger sister which sees the little bear damaged, she falls asleep upset … and wakes up in a stable in old-fashioned clothes with a scared and very real bear cub!

She soon meets Matthias who has come from his home to rescue the bear cub, Luna from the cruel bear leaders who have captured her to train her to perform at the markets.  So begins a heart-warming, magical adventure to save Luna from her terrible fate, and return her to her forest home in the wild …. Will the children be able to rescue Luna, and will Hannah find her way back to her family?

Hannah has travelled to a past time which is unfamiliar to her and is shocked by what she sees happening to the bears.  She is determined to help Matthias in his mission to save Luna, even if this puts her in danger.  The friendship between Matthias and Hannah is wonderful, supportive and encouraging, as they hatch a clever plan to rescue Luna …

Luna is the MOST adorable bear cub.  My heart ached for her when she was scared, especially learning of the reality for her should she not escape.  I was so desperate for her to be rescued, and completely caught up in the enchantment and warmth of this exciting, action-packed adventure.

I adored the magical element to this wonderful story, which does have some poignant moments as well as plenty of heart-warming ones, and loved how something in Luna’s present connected her to the past, and led her back in time to help Matthias in his mission.

The full, and partial, page illustrations are absolutely beautiful, capturing the feeling of this story perfectly.  I loved that each chapter number had a full-page illustration to lead the reader into the chapter.

This is a truly special story which will be adored by young animal lovers and adventurers alike, just perfect for a cosy read on a cold, wintry evening, especially in the lead up to Christmas when magic is in the air!

Thank you to Charlie and Little Tiger for an early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.