Suitable both for older children of about David’s age and up and adults alike, this is surely another one of those powerful "crossover" novels which always hit the spot. There is fantasy galore to plunge into - albeit of the fairy tale type; of woodcutters and wolves rather than dungeons and dragons, but a lot more as well. It is a tale about growing up, of being in that place between child and adult and what is gained and lost. David thinks he can escape his woes and responsibilities by hiding in his room and reading, and then by entering a magical world. But these fairy tales have teeth - very sharp ones - and a bite can kill. If he is to find the dying king and his Book of Lost Things he is going to have to grow up fast and do some adult reasoning or he will be as lost as those who have gone before him. Just about the right length to be compulsive reading; if I have made it sound "worthy" I certainly didn’t intend to. This is one of those books that stays in the mind long after, and surely one of 2006’s must-reads.