The Star of Kazan

‘Every bit as compelling as… Journey to the River Sea. An ingeniously plotted story, with a compelling sense of character and place’

The Times

‘Eva Ibbotson creates a marvellous world of rich and poor, kind and unkind, young and old against a background of Viennese convention. The Star of Kazan is a heartwarming, old-fashioned adventure… as absorbing as Ibbotson’s prize-winning Journey to the River Sea’

Julia Eccleshare, Guardian

‘Eva Ibbotson is one of our most enjoyable writers for the young. She tells stories with humour, warmth and perfect clarity in a way that children follow completely… Ibbotson builds her story with cliffhanging chapter endings… on the way we fall, not only for the heroine and her friends but for the real city of Vienna and its Lipizzaner horses, big wheel and irresistible pastries. The book, too, is delicious’

Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week

‘This is a great big fat engrossing read. It draws you in and won’t let you go until the last page is turned and the last sigh is sighed’

Books for Keeps

‘Eva Ibbotson is writing better than ever… The Star of Kazan… should pick up more prizes’

Independent

‘Fans of Eva’s last novel, Journey to the River Sea, will be glad to know she’s back and on top form… An amazing adventure that will launch you into a Viennese whirl!’

Sunday Times (‘Funday Times’)

‘[The Star of Kazan] eschews magic… Ibbotson excels at describing not only the world of the senses but that of the heart… Ibbotson’s genius is for creating people (and animals) whom you instantly recognize and love’

The Times

‘The bookshops are crammed with children’s titles, but where is the quality in all that quantity? Amid the flurries of new titles, what do you choose? This summer the problem is solved. Ibbotson has written a new novel, The Star of Kazan’

Dina Rabinovitch, Guardian

‘A fabulously satisfying read’

Sunday Telegraph

‘This is a solidly traditional piece of story-telling… There is more to the book than a good story, expertly told’

Times Educational Supplement

‘This is a beautiful, simply written and enchanting story that will keep you in suspense until the very end. An excellent read’

Publishing News

‘The Star of Kazan weighs in at an impressive 380 pages, and that is important because when you are presented with story-telling of this calibre, you simply never want it to end’

Lindsey Fraser, Bookseller