It’s my utter joy to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for Twitch, M.G.Leonard’s new kids book.

Twitch: part mystery; part detective story; ALL BRILLIANCE

Twitch is a twelve-year-old with three pet chickens, four pigeons, swallows nesting in his bedroom and a passion for bird-spotting. On the first day of summer holidays, he arrives at his secret bird-watching hide in the local nature reserve to find police everywhere: a convicted bank-robber and murderer has broken out of prison and is hiding in Aves Wood. Twitch soon finds himself entangled in the hunt for the dangerous prisoner. Can he turn his talents for bird-spotting to detective skills, and find the missing loot?

I’ve read the Adventures on a Train books which MG Leonard cowrites and I absolutely loved them, and the Beetle Boy series is incredibly popular at school, and when Walker asked me if I wanted to be involved in this blog tour, I knew I had to get my hands on this beauty… and let me tell you, it’s absolutely magnificent!

Twitch tells the story of Twitch, an avid big-watcher who ends up in the middle of the hunt for a prisoner who has broken out of prison and is hiding in Twitch’s woods. As you go through the story, you see that Twitch is not the greatest with people, but he is the most keen bird-watcher I think I’ve ever read about. He uses his wits, and some unexpected friends to help him and the police track down this mysterious escapee. But all is not as it seems initially.

This was one of those books that I was absolutely hooked on as soon as I started reading. I took it on the Metro with me to the seaside and I was GUTTED when it was my stop because it meant I had to stop reading. You get straight in at the adventure and straight in learning about Twitch (more on him later). What MG Leonard has managed to do here is write a story which not only teaches you something about birds, but it teaches you something about being human and what being human actually means. This book is SO FULL of kindness from unsuspecting places and people. It’s so full of twists and turns. It’s so full of brilliance. I read this in a matter of hours (in fact it was 2 metro journeys and a bus journey) and I was GUTTED when it was over – that’s how much I loved being in this world.

I think the thing you will fall for is the main character, Twitch. He’s just wonderful. He’s somewhat naive, but he’s so loving and dedicated. He’s dedicated his whole life to his birds… and he has quite the collection! There’s a scene at the beginning of the story where he saves a bird from a bunch of mean boys who are threatening to hurt it, and instantly I knew this was a kid full of empathy and intrigue. He’s a kid that I think a lot of kids will like.

This story is a wonderful mystery wrapped up in a story about friendship, being kind to the world and looking out for nature. I loved learning all the little facts about birds (and as someone who knows nothing about birds, it definitely taught me a lot!). Whether you’ve got a kid who loves birds, or just loves a detective/mystery story, this is the story for them. I can not recommend it enough – it has FLOWN off my reading shelves in the classroom already!

My Goodreads review:

Well this is lush! I loved learning all about Twitch and his birds. What happens when an escaped convict is tracked to the woods he spends time birdwatching in? This is a great story: part mystery, part detective. This is well paced and brilliantly written. What a clever kid Twitch is!

Have you read Twitch?
Do you know much about birds?
Would you be a good detective?

A massive thank you to Walker books for having me on the blog tour and for sending me an early copy of Twitch. I absolutely adored it and my class will too now! Remember to check out the rest of the blog tour – it is a jam packed one so you are sure to be in for a treat!

Twitch is out NOW – go treat yourself to a copy!!

S x