Tag Andy Sagar

Yesterday Crumb and the Tea Witch’s Secret

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Yesterday Crumb and the Tea Witch’s Secret
Andy Sagar
Orion


This third instalment of Andy’s series is every bit as full of enchantment as the previous adventures starring apprentice tea witch Yesterday (Essie), Miss Dumpling et al. As the story starts, Yesterday and her best buddy, confectionary witch Jack, are together in the tearoom and Jack is testing his latest product, Gravitational Gumdrops on himself. Yesterday’s delight at Jack’s success however, is quickly replaced by renewed concerns about her evil stepfather, Mr Weep’s unknown reasons for restoring Jack to life; she feels certain it will have undesirable consequences for both of them.


Suddenly as she’s pondering this, a not-badger arrives with a letter for her. It’s from her mother, Nuala Quirk. Having located her whereabouts and paid her a visit, Yesterday, somewhat unsure her mother is to be trusted, is more determined than ever to put a final stop to Weep’s evil intentions, so she calls on her fellow tea witches for help. However the Lord of the Dead is already a step ahead as, one by one her potential allies become victims of a strange flower that turns their hearts cold and sets them against one another. War is surely brewing.


Now in her greatest challenge yet, Yesterday must work out a way to defeat the malevolent flowers, prevent Mr Weep from executing his wicked plans and finally end his dark reign. And her mother: what will be her fate?


Along I suspect, with a considerable number of adult reviewers, and countless child readers, I have loved the opportunities to escape into the superbly crafted magical world of possibilities that is Dwimmerly End, watch Yesterday find there a host of wonderful friends and with determination, grow through some decidedly dark events, towards reaching her full potential.

What a superbly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I will truly miss the eccentric characters with their quirks and know that in the near future I will go back, sit with a mug of hot chocolate and relish all over again, the previous stories.

Yesterday Crumb and the Teapot of Chaos

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Yesterday Crumb and the Teapot of Chaos
Andy Sagar
Orion

Apprentice tea witch, Yesterday Crumb, she who adds the double portion of T to attitude, returns.

At the start of this sequel Yesterday, who is trying to find her mother, is London bound. Despite warnings that it’s dangerous, she is eagerly anticipating seeing the Wild Feast cooking competition, but that isn’t quite what happens.
There’s an unexpected turn when suddenly her beloved Dwimmerley End is stolen with Miss Dumpling inside and in order to regain it Yesterday must enter and win the competition.

On top of that the Faerie Queen accuses Yesterday of being responsible for the disappearances of some of the Faerie Court, so at the order of the Queen, she has her innocence to prove too. Can things get any worse?As Yesterday and her loyal friends start to investigate, she realises the entire magical world is at risk.

We meet lots of new characters including villains aplenty, but always lurking near the surface is Mr Weep (who happens to be Lord of the Underworld and Yesterday’s father). What can our junior tea witch do in the face of so much adversity?

As good battles against evil, the story bubbles over with tension, wild magic and dramatic, sometimes perilous, twists and turns, all wonderfully brought to life by Andy Sagar through his excellent world building and elegant use of language. Underlying the whole tale are themes of identity, prejudice and acceptance, all of which Yesterday struggles with as a ‘neither-nor’ endeavouring to carve out her own identity; fortunately though she has the support of good friends.

There are issues in Yesterday’s world that readers in our world will recognise and relate to – the effects of water pollution on mermaids, tree dryads having to contend with a lack of green spaces, for example.

Utterly thrilling, this soul-stirring page turner leaves us on a cliff-hanger, a-boil with eager anticipation for the third story.

Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup

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Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup
Andy Sagar
Orion

Born with fox ears, and nothing of her own except The Pocket Book of Faeries bearing her name found by her side, Yesterday Crumb has spent the first part of her life trapped in a cage, a curiosity for visitors to the travelling circus.

Then one day, with the aid of a raven familiar she escapes, having first learned that she’s actually a witch herself, albeit now without her magic; but she meets the sinister Mr Weep, demon in charge of the world of the Dead and he puts a shard of ice into her heart. Happily though she is then taken in by Miss Dumpling, a tea witch who runs the magical tea shop with legs, Dwimmerly End, where the raven familiar and a boy with a wolf’s nose also dwell. However unless she can remove that shard of ice before the winter solstice just a month away, Yesterday’s blissful new existence with its sense of belonging as a trainee witch will be very short-lived.

Meanwhile that new nurturing learning environment with its fantastical customers, flying teapot turtle Pascal and magic in every teacup, along with supportive Miss Dumpling’s ‘where there’s a witch there’s a way” attitude, Yesterday begins to believe in the possibility of finding the all important spell ingredient needed to break that curse of the shard. Before that she has to face a visit from the College of Witches and the test on her magic skills; that and learn to deal with her anger.

Both wonderfully whimsical and sometimes, surprisingly spooky and sinister, this is a truly spellbinding adventure quest and there’s a twist in its tail. With a touch of genius Andy Sagar has created a wonderful world full of teapots, tea and brewing, not to mention scrumptious cakes and a little coffee, as well as a cast of amazing characters, (and the occasional rogue) to populate it. Prepare to be swept away; it’s absolutely superb and I can’t wait for the next brew.