The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson – A Review by Bryony – BLOG TOUR

“Maybe, just maybe if I remembered the legends of the Damnoni and believed in them with my whole heart like Jinny, then one day I’d hear a song on the wind and the stones would whistle me back, too.”

Rating: 4 stars

Release date: 21/09/2023

Publisher: Scotland Street Press

CW: Animal death (remembered), death of parent (remembered), injury, violence

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Author: Victoria Williamson

Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.

Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.

Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

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Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country.

On one side of the Antonine Wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the ‘metal men’ who have invaded her Damnonii tribe’s homeland. At the Damnonii’s sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all.

Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before it’s too late?

I really enjoyed The Whistlers in the Dark! It was a fun adventure about forming friendships through adversity, and I really liked the setting.

Jinny was such a brave but stubborn character. She loved fiercely and held grudges. She felt like she could grow up to become someone like Boudicca. So when she had to interact with Felix, it was no wonder she was at his throat. When they became begrudging allies (not sure Jinny would call them friends), it made that connection all the more important.

Set in a world where the Romans and Damnonii tribe are just breaths away from each other, it was interesting to see the two clash. I loved seeing the ancient Damnonii rituals and cultures and how they continued to celebrate even with Romans just around the corner. Felix was such an interesting character because he had to span the gap between the two sides of his person, fighting to become the man he feels like his dad would be proud of versus the one he feels would honour his mum.

I really enjoyed how the Damnonii culture came out in magic and stories, so you didn’t know what was real.

And I really liked how, in a world where TikTok want to know how often men think about the Roman Empire, I could join in with this book.