Author(s): Jess Butterworth

Adventure and Real Life Stories

Heartland middle-grade adventure set in the swamps of Louisiana, perfect for fans of Katherine Rundell and Lauren St John Our land is sinking. It's disappearing into the water. And no one knows how to save it. Twelve-year-old Eliza and her sister Avery have lived their entire lives in a small fishing village on the coast of Louisiana, growing up alongside turtles, pelicans and porpoises. But now, with sea levels rising, their home is at risk of being swept away. Determined to save the land, Eliza and her younger sister Avery secretly go searching in the swamp for the dangerous, wolf-like loup-garou. If they can prove this legendary creature exists, they're sure that the government will have to protect its habitat - and their community. But there's one problem: the loup-garou has never been seen before. And with a tropical storm approaching and the sisters deep, deep in the swampland, soon it's not just their home at risk, but their lives as well...

Helen's Review

Sisters Eliza and Avery live near a Louisiana swamp. Their parents fish for shrimps in the Gulf of Mexico and they love their small community life surrounded by water and wildlife. But with sea levels rising their unique way of life is under threat so the girls devise a plan for saving the unique ecosystem of the swamp. The plan involves a legendary creature called a Loup-garou. If they can find it, surely the area it lives in will come to the attention of the authorities and be preserved. And so the girls and their friends embark on a hunt that takes them deep into the swamp through hurricane and flood. Soon they are fighting for their lives. This great eco-themed adventure story takes the reader to an unfamiliar setting that had my son and I googling the swamp and wanting to know more about it. With short, easy to read chapters and courageous characters, this is a heart thumping read for 8-12-year-olds

Miriam's Review - This is such a well paced book that you'll be surprised to find it all takes place over just one day! The kids are well written and the adventure they go on really does take you for a ride and leaves you hoping they stay safe and find a way to save their home for every turn of the page.