Riverskin
Mike Edwards
Walker Books

Green-yeller skinned Tess lives in the turns, beneath the River Tees with her guardian, darker green-skinned, spine-finned Aunt Peg and her Unkle Darkwater. So dangerous is he that he’s chained up in a pit and her aunt gives him slumber mix to keep him under control, but he’s an-ever present threat. Tess feeds on raw fish in a home furnished with ‘dry-folk stuff’ such as a ketul and other bits and pieces salvaged from the water. However Aunt Peg is getting older, becoming mind-slippy and mood-swirly so Tess can’t any longer rely on her for protection. Moreover, she starts having doubts about her true origin.

When Unkle Darkwater breaks free Tess is helped by Chris, a dry-folk boy she saved from drowning as well as extricating his bike from the nook. Now at last she begins to learn more about both herself and her true origins. When she finds out the truth though, what will she do?

I took a few pages to get used to Tess’s unique lyrical manner of telling her story but once I’d done so the drama and the world of the turns sucked me in and swept me along as I became more and more fascinated by her character and her fate.

With its roots in Teeside folklore, Mike Edwards’ debut book is exceptional and I eagerly await what comes next.