The midnight carnival - Erika McGann

Winner of the Waverton Good Read Children's Prize 2014!

A bearded ballerina, a young contortionist and a troupe of creepy clowns ...

It's the end of summer when a weird carnival rolls into town. Grace and her five magic friends make the most of it. But the gaudy lights and colours hide a dark secret. And when the girls are driven apart by doubts - and a wicked enchantment - they start keeping secrets too... As the most powerful evil they've ever encountered closes in, canthey still trust each other with their lives?

'McGann's debut is funny, a bit scary and surprisingly realistic... Preteens will enjoy the easy read, identify with the characters and ask for more' Kirkus Reviews on The Demon Notebook

McGann has created a satisfying, entertaining page turner... the castles, dungeons, fairy creatures and magical wizardry match pretty much anything you'd come across in Hogwarts' booksforkeeps.co.uk on The Watching Wood

Erika McGann grew up in Drogheda, County Louth, and now lives in Dublin. She is the author of a number of children's books, including the winner of the Waverton Good Read Children's Prize 2014, The Demon Notebook, the first in her magical series about Grace and her four friends. Other books in the series are: The Broken Spell, The Watching Wood and The Midnight Carnival. She is also the author of the 'Cass and the Bubble Street Gang' series.

if you are looking for a quirky, exciting read with six strong female characters at the centre, then look no further

the interplay between the girls is the strength of the story, and the dialogue alternates between panic and hilarity

an amazing book

with loads of twists and turns in it, I just couldn't predict what was going to happen next

this magical fantasy really drew me in, with believable characters and a mystery that I wanted to solve. Well-written and totally engrossing

will have readers … under its spell