Jayben and the Golden Torch: Book 1

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So often seizures in fiction are depicted as the end or a sign of someone worsening, we so rarely get to see people living with seizures and living through them. There are so many people, especially kids, dealing with this right now who need a hero like Jayben, to see themselves.

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Then I pressed “skip” one more time, and that’s when it happened – the most surreal moment of my life. A song I had somehow not heard in all that time, The Whole of the Moon by the Waterboys, began to play, and I was transported. For all the brilliant non-fiction resources there are to help a child cope with a brain injury and epilepsy, I believe they need help through fiction just as much. They need to see their difficulties faced by strong characters in stories that are not about the fact that they're disabled – books that any of their friends might enjoy just as much. An evil villain called Null is burning down the forests, hellbent on finding the torch and becoming the most powerful being ever to live. I think there were just too many new names and plot ideas for the story to be easy to follow - every creature, place and food had a totally unfamiliar and unusual name, and whilst this was interesting it meant it interrupted the flow of my reading constantly trying to remember what was what! When Jayben wakes up one day in the Elf world with the only clue as to who he is a compass engraved with his name we are as curious as he is and we are all drawn into a thrilling adventure as Jayben tries to find his magic, magic that will allow him to light a torch and save the elf world.Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - This book starts with us meeting Ben, an unhappy boy who suffers from seizures. He is living with his aunt, who doesn't like him very much. After having a weird dream, Ben has a seizure and suddenly we find ourselves in another world. Here we meet Jayben, an elfling who wakes up with no memory of who he is or where he's from. Jayben goes on a journey to try to find his memories and on that journey he discovers that he is the Ninth Dreamer and the key to saving both the Earth and Elf world. He also makes friends with a group of beings who help him and each other to overcome their fears. Finding a world of clans that descend from old magic & someone who is draining their memories by taking magic away. I went to a lot of the places I was told I had been to as a child, all the parks and shops and old schools. I went to places we’d been to on holiday and travelled the tube on the routes I had taken in my teens. We tried everything, but as time went on, the boy with my name in so many stories and grainy photographs remained another person in another world.

Jayben and the Golden Torch: Book 1 | Better Reading Jayben and the Golden Torch: Book 1 | Better Reading

Inspired by the author's uniquely personal experience of memory-loss comes an incredible, immersive fantasy series about a boy with no memories and a world that only he can save. Perfect for fans of Francesca Gibbons and The Land of Roar. Jayben discovers that many moons ago, a giant put a dark spell on the golden torch, and the elves forgot everything that had come before. Now they hang precious memories in jars on trees, just to try to remember. Inspired by the author’s uniquely personal experience of memory loss comes an incredible, immersive fantasy series about a boy with no memories and a world that only he can save. Jayben and the Golden Torchauthor Thomas Leeds has personal experience of looking for fiction starring characters who have epilepsy and memory loss. Apr 19 2023 Jayben and the golden torch by Thomas Leeds Hachette, 2023. ISBN: 9781444968637. (Age: 10-14) Recommended.If your young reader is a fan of Francesca Gibbons and the Wizards of Once series, then Jayben and the Golden Torch will be right up their alley! I recommend it for children aged 9+. The author clearly has a massive imagination, with the world he has created filled with unusual creatures, delicious sounding food and a 5 different realms. I particularly lived the sound of Dropcorn and Gribblenuts (these gave me the same cravings as Silky's popcakes did in the Enchanted Wood when I was a child!) The world of Jayben and the Golden Torch is rich with lore, flitting between our modern world and an elven world with magical powers, and the threat of a sinister villain who wants to make everyone forget. It is a classic children’s fantasy with fast-paced action and I cannot wait to see what comes next. Then I was told that it was possible that my memories might not actually be gone, they were just hard to reach. Maybe something from my past could jog them. My hopes ballooned. I just needed to find a key, and so my search began. I loved this book - a triumphant and richly imagined fantasy as well as a compelling insight into life with seizures and memory loss. I can't wait to see where this story goes!' - Lee Newbery, author of The Last Firefox