Beyond Platform 13

Platform 13 #2

by Sibéal Pounder, Eva Ibbotson (Contributor), Sian Thomas (Narrator)

Return to the magical world of Platform 13 and discover why the secrets are escaping in this fun, magical adventure sequel by Sibéal Pounder. 'BEYOND PLATFORM 13' is inspired by characters from Eva Ibbotson's classic, The Secret of Platform 13.

Nine years after the events of The Secret of Platform 13, The Island of Mist is under siege and Odge Gribble and Prince Ben are in hiding. Desperate to find out why the mist is disappearing, Odge travels through an enchanted gump to Vienna, to find a mist-maker expert.

But in yet another case of mistaken identity, Odge finds Lena, a nine-year-old girl looking for adventure. With the help of friends old and new, and some very interesting magic, Odge and Lena must find out why the mist is disappearing, before they lose their beloved island completely.




RUNNING TIME => 4hrs.

©2021 Sibéal Pounder (P)2021 Listening Library

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Audiobook, Magic, Fiction, Chapter Books

Audible Audio

First published October 3, 2019

About the author

Sibéal has written for publications including The Guardian, fashion trend forecaster WGSN, Vogue.com and The Financial Times, where she was the resident philanthropy columnist for the How To Spend It section for six years. She studied Modern History at St Andrews and Quentin Tarantino film at Yale.

Her bestselling debut Witch Wars has been translated into 10 languages so far and was shortlisted for the Sainsbury's Children's Book Award and the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize.

Reviews

[Robin Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming, funny and warm-hearted continuation of one of my very favourite childhood books. This has Sibeal Pounder's trademark laugh-out-loud weirdness, but also Eva Ibbotson's sweetness and clear-eyed assessment of the darkness present in the world. A real treat! Read the first book, The Secret of Platform 13, before this. (8+)

*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pounder did a great job of capturing Eva Ibbotson's fantastical humor and magic, particularly from The Secret of Platform 13. I laughed out loud every few pages. So happy to be back in this world 🥰

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved all of the Eva Ibbotson's books and so I was so excited to read this book from this author. This story is a return to Platform 13 and The Island of Mist! Odge Gribble, a hag and best friend to Prince Ben, is on the hunt for a mistmaking expert but instead finds Lina. They must find a way to fix the mist that protect the Island! No Spoilers! I highly recommend this book! I can't wait to read more from this author!

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy it as much as the first, reviewing soon!

[Gbolahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enthralling as the first book (read that more than 11 years ago), but, fair.

Whose genius idea was it to dumb down Odge? 😒 I seem to remember she was more resourceful in book one.

[Rebecca Fung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and builds on the interesting world created by Eva Ibbotson in the marvellous The Secret of Platform 13. It's an easy-to-like and fairly predictable story, but then so was the first book.

I think Eva Ibbotson's first book was better at managing the silly humour with the grotesque Trottle's and caricatures which made me laugh more. This book is great with the whimsy and magical fairytale stuff but doesn't capture that absurd humour as much. There are some small situations with the questioning of the hag where we have a very bad character against the good but the Trottles in the first book juxtaposed with the heroes did it so much better.

However this book does introduce a very lovable character whose quest we follow and there's a lot of likable adventure going on. Fans of Ben and Odge will particularly like this one.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

ive always thought it must be so strange to be the ghost of an author who has died and then your estate and publisher hire someone else to write a sequel to your book.....but i really enjoyed this!!! it was just as fun as the first book (which i reread last fall and got very excited the second i learned there was a sequel...alas i was not able to read it until i got a library card in ireland since none of my us libraries had it) & i really loved the illustrations

[Zoe Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

i love this book as much as the secret of platform 13. beyond platform 13 has so many references to the original book. when i’m reading long books that i like i i get into them emotionally. that’s what happened with this one. i love the mistmakers and i love how they feel like magic is normal and everything else is not. i love everything about it.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot better than the original. Maybe because it was more modern feeling, more similar to other books that I've been reading recently. Maybe because I like the characters better this time around. I don't know why, but I'm glad I took the time to give this one a chance, especially since I wasn't crazy about the original.

[Lynsey J Bell]

amazing book

Thank you soooooooooo much for creating this amazing book as it is in my top ten best books I have read.Also what is the book after beyond platform 13 and the secret of platform 13?????

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sequel to The Secret if Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.
It had a great cast of characters, and the plot was strong

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very imaginative and magical sequel to Eva Ibbotson's original novel. I loved the fun ideas like the vomiting maggot and the giant crack. 8+

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of the same humor, charm, and spirit of Ibbotson Eva.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book didn't really need a sequel, but it was cute

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really liked this fantastical adventure here Lina got in to when she and her handmade bagpack enter the kingscross station she is accidentally mistaken for someone else by odge, who was meeting with the mistmaker expert. Lina is then taken along to a magical island to help save it from the harpies.

The island is nicely described and it sets the atmosphere perfectly. The adventure takes place in this magical island and in the world as we know it and its perfectly woven together.

I loved the adventures and all the magical creatures we encountered.

If you love a good magical adventure or if you love magical creatures i recommend this book.

Thanks to Penquin publishing group and Edelweiss for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Secret of Platform 13 in one sitting about two years ago, when I was feeling very stressed and upset and worn out by uni and just wanted a break. It was like a balm to my soul, and so I immediately bought the sequel brought out to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the book, by longtime fan of Eva Ibbotson and writer Sibéal Pounder, and have been saving it for a similar situation ever since, which made this a perfect time to pick it up. It sees the Island of Mist face a shortage of protective mist, leading to evil harpies taking control of the island and Prince Ben and his family having to go into exile to stay safe. Our lovable hag protagonist from book one, Odge Gribble, sets out to find the expert on mistmaking, and accidentally ropes an adventurous young girl named Lina into the rescue of Mist. I loved seeing all the familiar faces from Mist, especially Odge and Ben but lots of others too, and I also adored the new cast that is introduced. The world is so sweet and silly and lovely and fun, although of course in this book it’s a little less so under the harpies’ rule, and I think the wordplay and use of language really contributes to the overall joyful feeling it has too. In my opinion, Sibéal has done a truly magnificent job capturing the spirit and quirky humour of Eva’s original, while also putting her own stamp on the world and characters. This was extremely well done.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beyond Platform 13 gives credence to the saying “You can never go home again.” I read The Secret of Platform 13 when I was young and it remains one of my favorites by the esteemed Eva Ibbotson. Her writing is clever, vivid, often hilarious, but most importantly, palatable to all ages. I read it when I was around 10, and again when I was in my 20s, and had the exact same experience. Beyond Platform 13, however, is written for kids. Not children, because I love children’s literature. But for kids, with lots of yelling and explosions and maddening plot twists. The magic of Platform 13 is sadly lost in this book, and I give it 3/5 stars mostly for nostalgia’s sake. And the bit about the snacks.