The mystery of the colour thief by Ewa Josefkowicz

Head of Zeus, 2018. ISBN 9781788546492
(Age: 12+) This is the story of a girl called Izzy, a cygnet called Spike and the power of feathers gathered from strong winds. It is a beautifully written debut about hope, healing and new beginnings.
First there was the accident, then came the nightmares and the mystery of the shadowy thief who steals all the colours from Izzy's world... a mystery that needs solving.
This is a beautiful story about a girl's struggle to overcome her guilt for supposedly causing a car accident that left her mum in a coma. Izzy's world appears to be falling apart in front of her very eyes - her best friend is being incredibly mean to her, her dad is distancing himself from her and school is awful. The author has very cleverly used the colour thief to steal all hope from the young girl's life - as she begins to unravel the complexities in her life the colour slowly begins to return. Izzy sees similarities in her own life in that of her new friend Toby, who was recently paralysed from a skateboard accident. Toby brings hope to Izzy's life and allows small glimmers of hope to appear. This is an emotional read covering themes including families, friends, challenges at school, belief, self-belief and most importantly empathy. Suitable for children aged 12 and it will certainly be a welcome addition to the collection.
Kathryn Schumacher