In Home Time a group of Perth kids are celebrating their last day of primary school with a big sleepover party. On their way there is an accident and they fall into the river. Instead of drowning they wake up in a fantastical world under the river, where the local people, the Peaches, mistake them for spirits that have arrived to help them.

Whyte has a fertile imagination and the book bristles with the odd and strange. There are echoes of Narnia, Roald Dahl, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie and other children's classics, and he is also clearly inspired by video games. The artwork shifts in styles from sepia drawings to pixellated platform games to oil paintings. The book is flawed, however, by the absence of the supposed villains, the lizards, who you'd think would have at least put in an appearance in the first part of the story. The ending leaves plenty of scope for further plot development, and it will be interesting to see where Whyte takes this. ( )

What happened to Laurence? Where is he? Is Pepu evil? Magical? Did Pepu make them fall in the river so they'd land in the Peaches' world? Why haven't we seen the lizards? What are the River Peaches plotting? Why are there regular buildings in the old abandoned area? How did the Peaches know so much about the kids before they arrived? Or did they build all the topiaries, etc., after they found the kids? Why do they have topiary of other kids from the school? What's Lily's plan? What's Ben's secret? Why doesn't Nathan want to go home? Why has David been such a pill ever since they arrived? ( )

This is weird, and the art style isn’t conventionally attractive. The art style shifts slightly with each character’s pov, which further shows how each kid sees the world.

When I first started reading this, I didn’t know what to make of it. It begins like a coming-of-age tale with the kids having finished primary school and getting ready for high school. We get a good grasp of the character dynamics early on and see some of the group is excited to grow up while others are hesitant and afraid their friendships won’t last. The sibling relationship here is harsh, and I don’t know if they even care for each other. I also suspect Lily has feelings for Amanda, but don’t quote me on that.

Then, this story turns into an isekai! Basically, the kids fall into another world filled with strange creatures. The creatures they meet are adorable (and give me Studio Ghibli vibes) and imaginative. But the creatures wrongfully think they are spirits (read: saviors) summoned to help them in a war.

I didn’t like any of the kids, and I found David obnoxious though I liked that he wanted to go home. I enjoyed the worldbuilding much more than any of the characters. Nothing is truly explained, so readers are as clueless as the group. I liked that!

Home has my attention, especially, because I already have volume two. The author is showing a realistic look at a bunch of kids in some unknown world. Their clothes get very worn out, and some adapt to the new environment better than others. This story also has some unexpectantly bloody scenes and a drug trip(?), by the way. I don’t know if this would even appeal to young kids, but it certainly has my interest.

Home is actually very dark. There’s a lot that’s confusing, unsettling, and maybe off-putting here, but I’m super invested now.
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