Cerrie Burnell: Wilder Than Midnight (Puffin Books 2022)
Cerrie Burnell is a British author, actress and TV person. She often appears in children’s TV shows. She was born without a right forearm and was confronted with the fact that she was different from the others as a child. However, she was very good at presenting stories. She used this ability in TV series. And her desire for storytelling was so strong that she’s been writing ever since she could write. So far, she has written 12 books for children and dedicated all of them to her daughter, Amelie. Wilder Than Midnight is her latest one, but a sequel is coming soon.
Silverthorne is a mysterious place with winding roads, thorny forests and a mysterious castle. In the book, the stories of three girls are interwoven: Saffy, a little girl from the village, who always follows the rules; Aurelia is locked in the tower of the castle; And Wild Rose was raised by wolves. Together, they could change Silverthorne forever. Their destinies intertwine like the thorny branches of the dark forests.
The protagonists of the story personify typical fairy-tale heroes who do not resign with the future destined for them but want to take their destiny into their own hands. Wild Rose was born with a disability, which is why she was an outcast. However, she found a home in the woods and was able to realize her dreams. This is one of the most important messages of the book: we should not judge someone by being different from us. Aurelia gets tired of waiting for her destiny to be fulfilled and takes control into her own hands. Saffy is the one who connects them and helps them both. Apart from them, there are many more important characters in the story, as well as well-known fairy tale elements, such as the red cloak, the tower, the curse, the spindle and the glass slipper. The tales all intertwine and form one big story, like at the beginning of time when people started telling them by the fire…
