There's always that one author...

Whose books, no matter how many times you read them, never fail to whisk you completely into their world. And no, I'm not talking about that feeling you get with every book - where you feel like you're on an adventure with the characters and riding right alongside them. I'm talking about those books where you are completely and utterly enthralled. You are in the book. It's your world. And, for those few precious hours you're there, you don't take into account your real surroundings, your mind is completely in the world painted on the pages and you feel such a loss when the last word has been read.

For me, these books have always been Eva Ibbotson's. Her books connected to me on an unbelievable scale since the first time I read them as a child and, even though I haven't reread one in a while, the sheer thought of them puts me in a happier mood. Fills me with a feeling of magic and possibility. Never has a writing style captivated me more and been able to pull me into the pages as much as Ibbotson's and to her, I will always be grateful. She created worlds that were, and still are, my fantasy and managed to reach out and find the part of me who wanted to believe in a world without limits and adventures around every corner and, to a child especially, believing in something as magical as that really was the greatest gift of all. There will always be a special place in my heart for Eva Ibbotson and her books, and that will never change.

Think of the book Inkheart - or, to those who haven't read it, the film. Just as Mo can bring a story, quite literally, to life, so can Ibbotson. But instead of bringing characters into the real world, she can write me into the pages - I am no longer a person who is reading a book, I am the book. A critical part of the storyline. It was, and still is, incredibly hard for me to resurface from the worlds she creates in her books, they connect to something in me that I cannot explain. Something fragile, childlike and magical.

Which books are these, I hear you ask? Well, the stories I hold so close to my heart are:

The Dragonfly Pool, Journey to the River Sea and The Star of Kazan

 

Each world is incredible. Each story, a masterpiece. I do not think I can express my love for these books or the author behind them more. Even the covers just reach out and tug on something childlike and vulnerable inside you - they are so beautiful. Quick sidenote before I go: Journey to the River Sea is the reason I want to go to the Amazon rainforest one day, The Dragonfly Pool the reason I love boarding school stories so much and I'm pretty sure you can guess from the cover of The Star of Kazan where else I wouldn't mind exploring. :)

 

What about you? Have you read any of Ibbotson's books? If so, did you enjoy them? Or even understand where I'm coming from? If not, what books connect to you like no others?

 

Happy Reading,

Rachel xoxo

PS: For some reason, it's extremely nerve-wracking for me posting this... These books are a part of me - my being - and I don't know if anyone else feels the same way about any books like I do with these! :3