Spellfall facts for kids
Spellfall hardback front cover Natalie and Jo are riding on a unicorn
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| Author | Katherine Roberts |
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| Cover artist | Paul Young |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's fantasy |
| Publisher | The Chicken House |
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Publication date
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19 October 2000 |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 239 (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | 1-903434-02-5 |
| OCLC | 44785707 |
| Preceded by | N/A |
| Followed by | N/A |
Spellfall is an exciting fantasy novel written by the English author Katherine Roberts. It was published on October 19, 2000, by The Chicken House. This book is specially written for young readers, around 12 to 15 years old.
Contents
About the Story
The story of Spellfall follows a 12-year-old girl named Natalie. Her life takes a wild turn when she is taken by a powerful wizard named Hawk. Hawk needs Natalie to join his special group of magic users, called a spellclave. He wants to gain a powerful magic known as the Power of Thirteen.
Hawk plans to use this power to invade Earthaven, a magical world. He wants to get revenge on the Spell Lords who sent him away for breaking an important agreement. Natalie finds herself caught in a magical adventure she never expected.
Main Characters
Natalie Marlins
Natalie "Nat" Marlins is the main character of the book. She has blonde hair and green eyes. She also wears glasses and is described as pretty. Natalie's mother, the Spell Lady Atanaqui, passed away when Natalie was very young.
Natalie's father, who is a salesman without a job, later marries Julie. Julie becomes Natalie's stepmother and already has a son named Timothy. Natalie and her stepbrother Tim do not get along well. After the marriage, the family moves from London to a small English town called Millennium Green.
Natalie's only friend is Jo Carter. Jo is the strongest and tallest girl at their school. Natalie sometimes gets teased at school because she has trouble seeing. People also think she is a bit strange because she has a pet spider named Itsy. Hawk and his followers try to use Itsy to get to Natalie, but their plan does not work. During her adventure, Natalie makes new friends. These include Merlin, who is her age, and K'tanaqui, who is her mother's loyal hound.
Merlin
Merlin is Hawk's son. He is often treated poorly by his father. Merlin's mother died when he was a baby. Hawk believes Merlin is not good at magic and even named him "Merlin" to make fun of him.
Merlin is connected to a mouse, as he couldn't form a bond with a merlin bird. He loves computers, but his father does not approve of this hobby. By the end of the story, Merlin uses his skills to make his father disappear in a very clever way. Merlin then stays in Earthaven. He helps the Spell Lords learn about technology, which helps them understand Oq's system better.
Hawk
Hawk is the main villain in the story. He is a mean wizard who desperately wants to become a Spell Lord. He searches for someone with magical abilities to kidnap. He also wants his goshawk bird to eat their pet. This would force the person to join his spellclave as the thirteenth member. This would help him become a Spell Lord. Hawk has long, black hair and yellow eyes. He wears a hawk feather and always carries a cane with a hawk's head on top.
Hawk's actions led to a very sad event for Merlin's mother. She later went on a train trip to the coast and walked near a high cliff. She was later found, and it was a very sad time for Merlin. After this, Hawk kept Merlin in the cellar to stop him from leaving. In the end, Merlin traps his father between different worlds.
Jo Carter
Joanne "Jo" Carter is Natalie's best and only friend. She is also a member of the school's netball team. They became friends after Jo stood up for Natalie when someone stole Natalie's glasses. Jo is the most athletic girl in the school. She is very tall and has brown hair with a fringe. Unlike Natalie, Jo has very good eyesight. She has a younger sister named Sarah, who has freckles and loves to talk and tease Tim.
Jo convinces Natalie to learn inline skating. One early morning, Jo, Natalie, and Jo's big, friendly dog Bilbo go out. During their skating lesson, Natalie loses sight of Jo and Bilbo in the fog. Soon after, Hawk and his followers ambush Natalie. They give Natalie something to make her fall asleep. Hawk sadly caused harm to Bilbo. Jo cannot free Natalie, so she quickly alerts Natalie's family and her own.
As the story continues, Jo and Tim also become friends. By the end of the book, Jo and her sister are offered a new dog.
Mr Marlins
Mr. Marlins is Natalie's father. His first name is not mentioned in the book. He used to have a problem with drinking too much. He worked as a salesman but lost his job. Now, he mostly stays at home and spends his time cleaning his fancy car. He had not driven the car since Natalie's mother passed away. Mr. Marlins does not have many friends at the beginning of the story, but this changes by the end.
Julie Marlins
Julie Marlins is Natalie's stepmother. She is Mr. Marlins' wife and Tim's mother. Before marrying Mr. Marlins, she told her son that she thought Natalie was a confused little girl and her father was an unhappy man. Because of this, she gave Natalie a lot of attention, which sometimes meant she didn't give as much attention to her own son. This led to some arguments between Natalie and Tim, with Tim often acting more aggressively and teasingly.
Tim
Timothy Lockley, or "Tim" for short, is Natalie's stepbrother and Julie's son. He is upset about his mother's second marriage because it made them leave London and move to Millennium Green. Tim also dislikes Natalie and her father. He blames them for his anger and often teases his stepsister to deal with his feelings. To join a group of friends from school, Tim got his ear pierced with an earring that looks like a skull. Tim is described as having blonde curly hair.
