Read Time: 2 Minutes
Evertrue, written by Jill London, is a feel-good fairytale adventure. Now, I’ll admit to having help reviewing this one. I enlisted my youngest daughter to listen along with me. I knew without even asking that she enjoyed it. Giggling away as the story unfolded, she was hooked on it.
Even though it’s short at a little over an hour and a half, we had to listen over a number of sittings. She likes listening to books as she falls asleep, so I had to keep skipping back, as I’d be so engrossed myself I failed to notice when she had drifted off.
The story is Dahlesque in some ways, like the people and place names. River Spew is the most obvious example I can think of.. that and something about a plague of missing toilet paper. Horrid bad guys trying to ruin the day of everyone by feeding them to fearsome man-eating turtles.
We follow Mila and her friends as they venture into the dark underworld caverns for the Evil Malrook and his famous Evertrue Emerald. A cast of interesting support characters rounds us out for a truly fun adventure we couldn’t get enough of.
Narrator Emma Stansfield was an absolute delight. I often have difficulty finding audiobooks my kids want to listen to, as the narrator is often the first breaking point. My youngest loved Emma’s voice immediately, so I knew she’d passed the first test.
Emma brought the story and its cast of characters to life. From the atrocious baddies of the spoilt King Josef, evil tax collectors, and the aforementioned Malrook, to the cast of goodies of Mila, Thomas, Tobias and the rest, Emma’s voice kept us entertained throughout.
We’ve since listened to this again, and my youngest is keen to get it into the rotation of bedtime books. Well recommended.