The Volume of Possible Endings
Barbara Else
Gecko Press
pub. 2014

12 April, 2021

In the enchanting The Volume of Possible Endings, award-winning author Barbara Else spins a tale of trust, good, and evil.

Dorrity lives in Owl Town: a small town that is renowned for its magic, or the lack of it. She is the only child in the whole of the town and, until now, she has not questioned the reason why. But as her brothers prepare for their annual trip to Fribbleton, she begins to notice that they continuously avoid answering her questions. Why isn’t she allowed to come on their journey? Why are her brothers becoming increasingly nervous around her?  Most importantly, what is that strange book that has suddenly appeared in Mrs Freida’s house?

When her brothers fail to return from wherever they were very secretly going, Dorrity realizes that something is horribly wrong. Things go missing around town. Strange noises come out of the Beastly Dark, a place where she is forbidden to go. All the more reason not to go near it, right? Who was she kidding? She was itching to go and have a look. Dorrity begins to suspect that something is going on in Owl Town, and it may not be as lacking in magic as everybody thought. Then, out of the blue, she finds a person in the Beastly Dark, a child just like her. But little does she know, this is the start of a thrilling adventure that she will never forget.

The Volume of Possible Endings is a story of hope, family, triumph, but most of all friendship.

With excitement and a new danger around every corner, this book was simply marvellous. The characters were so relatable in some ways but so very different from us in another that you just can’t help but feel for them. Else has created an exhilarating fantasy world and this book did not disappoint me. Just imagine… you live in a world filled with dragon-eagles and bad magic. How cool would that be?

Don’t ever lose hope, is one thing this book has taught me, even when things look bleak and it seems that bad will have victory, you just have to keep going and if you try hard enough, good will come out at the top. Oh, and the other moral of this story, your adventure is never over, or “Things go on, one way or another,” as King Jasper would say.

This book would be a pleasure to read for anyone (or so I think). You can read it by yourself, or with someone like your grandparents or your little siblings. Whether you’re an adult or a child you will just want to keep reading this book even when you’re finished. But wait, you can! This book is actually a series! You start at The Travelling Restaurant and go from there. The Volume of Possible Endings is somewhere in the middle of the series, I think. This book got an absolute 5 stars from me, and I’m sure it will from you too. For all those people out there who love a good fantasy novel or a nice and thrilling adventure novel for the young and old, this book is for you!

• Nell Mace-David is 12, homeschooled, and lives in Dunedin.