Katya Balen: The Thames and Tide Club – The Secret City (Bloomsbury Publishing 2023)
The Thames and Tide Club is already known from October, October by Katya Balen. In this book, we get to know another group of people who search for treasures washed up on the banks of the Thames. Clem and her friends Ash and Zara, along with other residents of their estate, go out to the riverbank every Saturday – rain or shine – and look for treasures. They usually find – if not treasures, then objects that the local museum curator deems worth preserving. One day, however, Clem returns from her mudlarking with a very strange find. This sets off a chain of unexpected and astonishing events.
At the beginning of the story, we cannot yet guess that the adventures of Clem and her friends will take a fantastic turn when they step into an unknown, secret world that is closer to them than they think – located under the surface of the Thames. Here they encounter characters and events that fit into a fairy tale or a dream, and it is up to them to ensure that the two worlds can continue to coexist peacefully. The book builds a very kind and interesting world in which everyone can find beauty.
Katya Balen has already won prestigious literary awards with her first book (The Space We’re In), and her second novel, October, October, was also successful. This series is dominated by fantastical elements rather than contemporary ones. When the author is not writing, she enjoys baking and trying to keep her houseplants alive.
The volume is illustrated by Rachael Dean, whose numerous illustrations have appeared in various middle grade novels, such as Jacqueline Wilson’s books. She likes to draw inspiration for her pictures from the beauty of nature.
