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Adventures in Lylaland
DISCOVER THE MAGIC OF IMAGINARY WORLDS AND THE POWER OF CREATIVITY IN THIS BEAUTIFUL DEBUT CHILDREN'S NOVEL FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR LOUISE PENTLAND.
Ten-year-old Lyla Wilde is ready for a fresh start. After a summer of moving between her mum and dad's houses, she's fed up with the tension between them. Her parents had promised that the divorce would make things better, but it's only made them more complicated! So instead, she escapes to her very own dream world, where anything is possible.
Then students at her school are invited to participate in the National Inspiration Invention Competition and finalists are offered the chance to bring their family on a weekend away. This is it! Lyla sees the competition as the perfect chance to get Mum and Dad back together and put an end to the arguing. But trying to think up an invention that helps others is harder than she expects, and stepping into Lylaland doesn't offer her the escape that it used to. Not when sinister storm clouds roll in and push her out!
Just what will Lyla do when her daydreams start to feel like nightmares? Can she rediscover the magic of Lylaland and fix things in the real world too?
ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND meets GEORGE'S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE in this wonderfully whimsical middle grade story!
Ten-year-old Lyla Wilde is ready for a fresh start. After a summer of moving between her mum and dad's houses, she's fed up with the tension between them. Her parents had promised that the divorce would make things better, but it's only made them more complicated! So instead, she escapes to her very own dream world, where anything is possible.
Then students at her school are invited to participate in the National Inspiration Invention Competition and finalists are offered the chance to bring their family on a weekend away. This is it! Lyla sees the competition as the perfect chance to get Mum and Dad back together and put an end to the arguing. But trying to think up an invention that helps others is harder than she expects, and stepping into Lylaland doesn't offer her the escape that it used to. Not when sinister storm clouds roll in and push her out!
Just what will Lyla do when her daydreams start to feel like nightmares? Can she rediscover the magic of Lylaland and fix things in the real world too?
ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND meets GEORGE'S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE in this wonderfully whimsical middle grade story!
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Published August 28, 2025
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About the author
Louise Pentland
14 books636 followersLouise Pentland is a British author, vlogger, blogger and internet personality.
Pentland is best known for her online work, under the title Sprinkleofglitter. She was working in a number of office roles when she began writing a craft and interior DIY blog named "Sprinkle of Glitter". In January 2010, Pentland began her YouTube channel, also named "Sprinkle of Glitter". At first the channel covered beauty, fashion and lifestyle; it has since expanded to include motivational and advice videos. In August 2012, Pentland began a second channel named "Sprinkle of Chatter", where she uploads lifestyle vlogs.
Pentland grew up in Northampton. In 2003, she moved to Liverpool to study Psychology and Biology; she attended Liverpool John Moores University and graduated with honours in 2006.
Pentland has identified as a feminist and interviewed Labour Party leader Ed Miliband during the 2015 United Kingdom general election.
On 2 November 2014 she performed a pilot of her LouiseLIVE stage show in Northampton, her home town, and went on to take it on tour around the UK.
On 2 July 2015 she released her debut book Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter through Simon & Schuster publishing. The following month she published Sprinkle of Glitter 2016 Diary: Have the Best Year of Your Life! through Faber and Faber.
She released her debut novel, Wilde Like Me in 2017.
Pentland is best known for her online work, under the title Sprinkleofglitter. She was working in a number of office roles when she began writing a craft and interior DIY blog named "Sprinkle of Glitter". In January 2010, Pentland began her YouTube channel, also named "Sprinkle of Glitter". At first the channel covered beauty, fashion and lifestyle; it has since expanded to include motivational and advice videos. In August 2012, Pentland began a second channel named "Sprinkle of Chatter", where she uploads lifestyle vlogs.
Pentland grew up in Northampton. In 2003, she moved to Liverpool to study Psychology and Biology; she attended Liverpool John Moores University and graduated with honours in 2006.
Pentland has identified as a feminist and interviewed Labour Party leader Ed Miliband during the 2015 United Kingdom general election.
On 2 November 2014 she performed a pilot of her LouiseLIVE stage show in Northampton, her home town, and went on to take it on tour around the UK.
On 2 July 2015 she released her debut book Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter through Simon & Schuster publishing. The following month she published Sprinkle of Glitter 2016 Diary: Have the Best Year of Your Life! through Faber and Faber.
She released her debut novel, Wilde Like Me in 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 18, 2025
Unfortunately there has been a recent upsurge of fake reviews from unverified fake accounts for this book on Amazon, so hopefully that doesn’t happen here.
While this book is not exactly for my age range (30+) I have studied English literature and do still appreciate well-written children’s/tween books.
I am not the biggest fan of Louise as a person, however was given this book for free and curious to see how it measured up to her other ones. I’ve read all of Louise Pentland’s ‘adult’ books now and wanted to see how this one compared.
The cover suggests this book might be fantasy themed, but really it’s mainly about a little girl called Lyla navigating her parents bad relationship, and pretty true to life for the majority. For those who have read Louise’s Robin Wilde books, this is basically a sequel told from Robin’s daughter Lyla’s POV.
You do have to laugh- it may be fiction, but a lot of the characters pretty much match up to people Louise has spoken about in real life in the past. If you compare the characters in this to the people in Louise’s autobiography, Motherhood, it’s dead easy to see who is meant to be who. Only in this case, the handsome American (Drew, oops I mean Edward) moved to England…
I will say that Robin from the Wilde like me series comes across so different in this book. She is more mature in the adult trilogy, and comes across very immature, angry, and should I say not a great mother in this book. At points it seemed like it was a totally different character.
Lyla is a 10 year old daughter who is navigating her parents’ toxic split, and instead of it being mature; the majority of the book is her two parents yelling abuse at each other, and making Lyla feel guilty to boot- with a storyline about a school competition and her imaginary world, lylaland squeezed in for good measure. Lyla retreats into her imaginary world when things are hard for her at home and school, but some people aren’t impressed by it…
RE the competition, it did seem a bit forced and fake to begin with, however the ending was somewhat realistic and I think that was one of the stronger points of the book. The parents call a truce- but you are left wondering “how long will that last?”
I do think it would be best if Louise picked one genre and stuck to it. Ie, fantasy, or reality. I know a mix of both was what she did in her book ‘Time after time’ but I do think it worked better there. Perhaps because the jolt back to true life didn’t seem as jarring as it did here?
I know Louise is a fan of Jacqueline Wilson, and I don’t know if she was trying to channel her here (unhappy split family set up, worried child who feels parentified at times, plus using JW’s new illustrator) because it did read as an attempt at a bit of a JW knockoff attempt.
Overall it’s a quick, easy read but it’s definitely not as twinkly and happy as it looks on the cover. I don’t believe in sanctioning books, but maybe take a look through it before you give it to a young child. I also wouldn’t recommend it to kids whose parents are going through a divorce as it kind of shows two exes at their worst possible.
2.5 rounded up to 3.
While this book is not exactly for my age range (30+) I have studied English literature and do still appreciate well-written children’s/tween books.
I am not the biggest fan of Louise as a person, however was given this book for free and curious to see how it measured up to her other ones. I’ve read all of Louise Pentland’s ‘adult’ books now and wanted to see how this one compared.
The cover suggests this book might be fantasy themed, but really it’s mainly about a little girl called Lyla navigating her parents bad relationship, and pretty true to life for the majority. For those who have read Louise’s Robin Wilde books, this is basically a sequel told from Robin’s daughter Lyla’s POV.
You do have to laugh- it may be fiction, but a lot of the characters pretty much match up to people Louise has spoken about in real life in the past. If you compare the characters in this to the people in Louise’s autobiography, Motherhood, it’s dead easy to see who is meant to be who. Only in this case, the handsome American (Drew, oops I mean Edward) moved to England…
I will say that Robin from the Wilde like me series comes across so different in this book. She is more mature in the adult trilogy, and comes across very immature, angry, and should I say not a great mother in this book. At points it seemed like it was a totally different character.
Lyla is a 10 year old daughter who is navigating her parents’ toxic split, and instead of it being mature; the majority of the book is her two parents yelling abuse at each other, and making Lyla feel guilty to boot- with a storyline about a school competition and her imaginary world, lylaland squeezed in for good measure. Lyla retreats into her imaginary world when things are hard for her at home and school, but some people aren’t impressed by it…
RE the competition, it did seem a bit forced and fake to begin with, however the ending was somewhat realistic and I think that was one of the stronger points of the book. The parents call a truce- but you are left wondering “how long will that last?”
I do think it would be best if Louise picked one genre and stuck to it. Ie, fantasy, or reality. I know a mix of both was what she did in her book ‘Time after time’ but I do think it worked better there. Perhaps because the jolt back to true life didn’t seem as jarring as it did here?
I know Louise is a fan of Jacqueline Wilson, and I don’t know if she was trying to channel her here (unhappy split family set up, worried child who feels parentified at times, plus using JW’s new illustrator) because it did read as an attempt at a bit of a JW knockoff attempt.
Overall it’s a quick, easy read but it’s definitely not as twinkly and happy as it looks on the cover. I don’t believe in sanctioning books, but maybe take a look through it before you give it to a young child. I also wouldn’t recommend it to kids whose parents are going through a divorce as it kind of shows two exes at their worst possible.
2.5 rounded up to 3.
December 6, 2025
Normally when a kid escapes to a fantasy world in such a book as this it's because they need to escape something awful. Lyla goes to Lylaland for any number of reasons – when she's very happy, when she's thinking it's better than her lessons, and when she does have something worth avoiding – her separated parents still squabbling about custody, the future and each other. So with a pair of loving parents, two good homes to split herself with, and great new exotic friends at her posh school, what could possibly be the reason to need Lylaland? And what is making it less accessible and less of a wondrous success, anyway?
For Lylaland is cracking. Reality is interrupting it too much, and it's starting to glitch – when she fantasises a kind of Olympics performance she'll take part in, the music stutters to a stop. Sure, the colours, smells, spectacular foods and flying little critters are all there, but…
This was actually a really decent read, despite anything that might have put me off. I didn't know this was written by some influencer I'd never heard of – but it borrows the daughter of the mother heroine of a previous trilogy for older readers, so that's alright. It seems to stumble when introducing a STEM talent show, but manages to carry on through. It does focus too much on Lyla's wardrobe by the end, and adds too many quirky misunderstandings for the girl (thinking crab cakes are cakes, etc), but even such girl-reader-only beats and unevenness didn't hurt things too much.
All told the novel balances the benefits or not of Lylaland very well, making sure we see how useful we all find imaginary worlds – but that there is a limit to them. Someone here finds theirs useful to remember their loved one, and one bloke instantly launches into a perfect future where he shows off his F1 world to new associates as if daydreaming about it. (It also allows for a startling moment when we crash back to Earth from one visit, to see the novel talking about something we just never see mentioned in such books for young readers – another unevenness that is actually really well handled.)
Ultimately, then, this is a wise-sounding book, giving a moral of good use and importance in very friendly, dramatic ways. There's nobody reading this of the target age that ends up disliking Lyla, and the interest in seeing how she has the daydream to live in but ought to work on her own lot in real life first is sustained to a fine finish. Neither does that wrap up everything perfectly, for you sense there will still be maths stumbles to come, if nothing else. But regardless, this is what I might dare to call charming, and a strong success for the intended readers. Four stars from me, more from them.
For Lylaland is cracking. Reality is interrupting it too much, and it's starting to glitch – when she fantasises a kind of Olympics performance she'll take part in, the music stutters to a stop. Sure, the colours, smells, spectacular foods and flying little critters are all there, but…
This was actually a really decent read, despite anything that might have put me off. I didn't know this was written by some influencer I'd never heard of – but it borrows the daughter of the mother heroine of a previous trilogy for older readers, so that's alright. It seems to stumble when introducing a STEM talent show, but manages to carry on through. It does focus too much on Lyla's wardrobe by the end, and adds too many quirky misunderstandings for the girl (thinking crab cakes are cakes, etc), but even such girl-reader-only beats and unevenness didn't hurt things too much.
All told the novel balances the benefits or not of Lylaland very well, making sure we see how useful we all find imaginary worlds – but that there is a limit to them. Someone here finds theirs useful to remember their loved one, and one bloke instantly launches into a perfect future where he shows off his F1 world to new associates as if daydreaming about it. (It also allows for a startling moment when we crash back to Earth from one visit, to see the novel talking about something we just never see mentioned in such books for young readers – another unevenness that is actually really well handled.)
Ultimately, then, this is a wise-sounding book, giving a moral of good use and importance in very friendly, dramatic ways. There's nobody reading this of the target age that ends up disliking Lyla, and the interest in seeing how she has the daydream to live in but ought to work on her own lot in real life first is sustained to a fine finish. Neither does that wrap up everything perfectly, for you sense there will still be maths stumbles to come, if nothing else. But regardless, this is what I might dare to call charming, and a strong success for the intended readers. Four stars from me, more from them.
September 22, 2025
Adventures In Lylaland by Louise Pentland is a wonderful debut novel for girls aged eight years and over. It is a very charming read, with life lessons for us all whatever our age.
We witness the power of the mind to transport us to faraway places where the only limit is our imagination. Lead character Lyla is ten-years-old. She escapes to Lylaland whenever life gets hard for her. Bullies tease her for this, whilst others long to hear her stories.
As the novel progresses, Lyla learns that she can control her thoughts and “Lylaland is for fun, not for escaping to when life feels hard.” When life is hard, we need to face it and we need to share our fears with others.
We see Lyla navigating school with its’ pitfalls of friendships, the playground, and the forceful Maths teacher. With kindness and also by applying herself to her lessons, Lyla has the power to overcome it all.
Divorced parents create a rocky road for Lyla as she is caught in the middle. Lyla loves both her parents. We see the unconditional love that her mother gives her, and the not always so great, advice she receives from her father’s girlfriend.
Lyla’s Aunt Kath teaches her a wise lesson about love and loss. Those we have loved and have lost, live on in our hearts and minds.
All the characters were delightful and very likable. Lyla was easy to empathise with.
Adventures In Lylaland is a perfect book for the tweens – whether the book is read to them or whether new readers can access it alone, they will learn that whatever they face, they are not alone. I think every personal library should have a copy, as should primary classrooms.
Adventures In Lylaland is entertaining and educating. I will leave you with my favourite quote”
“Never be afraid of where your mind can take you… Sometimes it’s exactly what your heart needs.”
We witness the power of the mind to transport us to faraway places where the only limit is our imagination. Lead character Lyla is ten-years-old. She escapes to Lylaland whenever life gets hard for her. Bullies tease her for this, whilst others long to hear her stories.
As the novel progresses, Lyla learns that she can control her thoughts and “Lylaland is for fun, not for escaping to when life feels hard.” When life is hard, we need to face it and we need to share our fears with others.
We see Lyla navigating school with its’ pitfalls of friendships, the playground, and the forceful Maths teacher. With kindness and also by applying herself to her lessons, Lyla has the power to overcome it all.
Divorced parents create a rocky road for Lyla as she is caught in the middle. Lyla loves both her parents. We see the unconditional love that her mother gives her, and the not always so great, advice she receives from her father’s girlfriend.
Lyla’s Aunt Kath teaches her a wise lesson about love and loss. Those we have loved and have lost, live on in our hearts and minds.
All the characters were delightful and very likable. Lyla was easy to empathise with.
Adventures In Lylaland is a perfect book for the tweens – whether the book is read to them or whether new readers can access it alone, they will learn that whatever they face, they are not alone. I think every personal library should have a copy, as should primary classrooms.
Adventures In Lylaland is entertaining and educating. I will leave you with my favourite quote”
“Never be afraid of where your mind can take you… Sometimes it’s exactly what your heart needs.”
October 16, 2025
Relatable divorce and school story, with imaginative protagonist having to accept reality.
3.5 stars.
You can understand Lyla. Escaping into her own colourful bubble of a world when her warring divorced parents fight and shout, she is both the envy of other children for her created world and the exasperation of family and teachers. But Lyla can't help it. When she's upset, cornered, when everyone is shouting, she retreats into her mind and fights evil maths teachers, slides down chutes and eats fairytale foods. It's her way of coping.
But Lyla has problems brewing with friends that Lylaland isn't going to resolve for her. Parents' Evening meetings that show she's behind in classes when she's not concentrating. And a competition to win for Young Inventors that means she needs to stay grounded in the real world to plan and prepare. And something is wrong in Lylaland too, storms that eject her from her refuge that she can't control.
A story about accepting real life and facing up to its difficulties. About imagination and friendship. And about the bitterness of divorce and new adults in your parents lives - the scenes here were quite graphic in the fights and catty comments, you can see why Lyla wants to get away from it all.
I didn't understand the inventing competition - the kids aren't actually 'inventing' anything or making it, they are simply coming up with ideas... didn't make sense to me as nothing would be made/created or eventually help anyone. It was just nice ideas. Still puzzled by this.
Very saccharine sweet at times, then back to the reality of life at others. I think boys will struggle to find something relatable in the main character in her dream world, it's very much a girl-centred book and story.
For ages 8-11.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a sample reading copy.
3.5 stars.
You can understand Lyla. Escaping into her own colourful bubble of a world when her warring divorced parents fight and shout, she is both the envy of other children for her created world and the exasperation of family and teachers. But Lyla can't help it. When she's upset, cornered, when everyone is shouting, she retreats into her mind and fights evil maths teachers, slides down chutes and eats fairytale foods. It's her way of coping.
But Lyla has problems brewing with friends that Lylaland isn't going to resolve for her. Parents' Evening meetings that show she's behind in classes when she's not concentrating. And a competition to win for Young Inventors that means she needs to stay grounded in the real world to plan and prepare. And something is wrong in Lylaland too, storms that eject her from her refuge that she can't control.
A story about accepting real life and facing up to its difficulties. About imagination and friendship. And about the bitterness of divorce and new adults in your parents lives - the scenes here were quite graphic in the fights and catty comments, you can see why Lyla wants to get away from it all.
I didn't understand the inventing competition - the kids aren't actually 'inventing' anything or making it, they are simply coming up with ideas... didn't make sense to me as nothing would be made/created or eventually help anyone. It was just nice ideas. Still puzzled by this.
Very saccharine sweet at times, then back to the reality of life at others. I think boys will struggle to find something relatable in the main character in her dream world, it's very much a girl-centred book and story.
For ages 8-11.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a sample reading copy.
September 27, 2025
Came across the book from Emily Norris’s video on YouTube which mentioned it, followed by Louise Pentlands Video which announces the new book within the vlog.
I ended up choosing to pay for a signed copy, which ended up taking over two weeks to arrive despite being a pre-order. When I finally received the book in the post, I was a little surprised by how little pages there were within the book, I was expecting a slightly chunkier book.
Perhaps Lylaland can be related to me as my “daydream” land when I zone out for a moment.
Lyla navigates school with its’ pitfalls of friendships, the playground, and the forceful Maths teacher. With kindness and also by applying herself to her lessons, Lyla has the power to overcome it all. The conversation about Maths certainly took me back to many maths lessons where I would just zone out from what was being said. (Maybe I was in Lylaland back then)
I would say this is aimed at younger readers, but if you are like me who likes to read any book by your favourite authors, I’d say give it a go!
I ended up choosing to pay for a signed copy, which ended up taking over two weeks to arrive despite being a pre-order. When I finally received the book in the post, I was a little surprised by how little pages there were within the book, I was expecting a slightly chunkier book.
Perhaps Lylaland can be related to me as my “daydream” land when I zone out for a moment.
Lyla navigates school with its’ pitfalls of friendships, the playground, and the forceful Maths teacher. With kindness and also by applying herself to her lessons, Lyla has the power to overcome it all. The conversation about Maths certainly took me back to many maths lessons where I would just zone out from what was being said. (Maybe I was in Lylaland back then)
I would say this is aimed at younger readers, but if you are like me who likes to read any book by your favourite authors, I’d say give it a go!
September 6, 2025
*This was a review copy*
This is a good book to help children with divorce, anxiety and friendship issues. I do feel that students would have a hard time relating to the main character who attends a private school. an inner city student on FSM may struggle to relate to a girl who attends a school where they get live reindeer in at Christmas!
This is a good book to help children with divorce, anxiety and friendship issues. I do feel that students would have a hard time relating to the main character who attends a private school. an inner city student on FSM may struggle to relate to a girl who attends a school where they get live reindeer in at Christmas!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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October 12, 2025Listened on audiobook - not going to rate this because I’m not the target audience, I just borrowed it because it was on my free audiobook app and I love Louise!
This was definitely a cute little children’s book, very creative and fun and I think I would’ve enjoyed this if I was probably 9-12 sort of age
This was definitely a cute little children’s book, very creative and fun and I think I would’ve enjoyed this if I was probably 9-12 sort of age
October 21, 2025
Great children’s debut. My daughter loved Lylaland. She now wants to create her own land. She is 8 and read this to herself but this book could easily be read to younger children.
Looking forward to what comes next
Looking forward to what comes next
August 24, 2025
3.75 stars
January 22, 2026
such a beautiful book based around childhood anxiety and kids dealing with issues like being horrible to each other, saying hurtful things etc.
highly recommend
highly recommend
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews