Captivating right from the start, this was Gill Lewis's first published novel, and it shows in its raw energy and emotion. Scotland - it's landscape and its communities - are perfectly drawn. Callum and Iona are brilliant protagonists - Iona so down to earth and feisty, Callum so normal, really - caught between in his desire to befriend Iona and do the things he knows are right, and the pull to fit in with his friends who just want to mountain bike and play with the latest gadgets. Through Iona and Callum's connection with the Ospreys they discover, the reader, too, is drawn into wonder at the beauty and power and otherness of the wild. Besides all this, the book teaches so much - about the migratory habits of Ospreys, and the reasons they are endangered, as well as about the importance of acceptance and care for those around us who need us. The book doesn't just take us to Scotland, but also to the Gambia, where Iris the Osprey has gone to ground, no longer transmitting signals from her tracking device. Callum's promise to Iona was that he would take care of Iris, and the best he can do is to send messages to anyone he can contact near her last point of contact. The message he receives back leads to an unlikely friendship and, ultimately, the coming together of two wildly different cultures, connected through a love of nature. The book is a classic now - and deservedly so - and Gill Lewis has gone on to write many, many more books, all exploring beautifully the connection between humans and the wild. If you know a pre-teen who has a passion for nature and you want to get them reading, this is the place to start!