Eva Ibbotson

Secret of Platform 13

Odge Gribble, a young hag, accompanies an old wizard, a gentle fey, and a giant ogre on their mission through a magical tunnel from their Island to London to rescue their King and Queen's son who had been stolen as an infant.

The Secret of Platform 13

Sarah Sammis

Although I've read Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson I hadn't heard of The Secret of Platform 13, that is until the recent accusations of her estate over possible plagiarism in the Harry Potter series. Curious over that, I checked out the book from my local library and loved it.

The parents though in The Secret of Platform 13 are alive and well, living as the King and Queen of the Island (aka Avalon and many other well known names). Their son was stolen from them the last time the gump opened under Platform 13 in Kings Cross Station. Now that the gump has reopened (ten years later?) a rescue crew has gone to bring the lost prince home.

Gump being a nonsense word though ends up having many definitions. If you're an American and a fan of L. Frank Baum (as I am), "gump" will bring to mind a magical creature made up of the odds and ends of a typical Victorian attic. Most importantly though it will have a talking moose head tied to the front of two sofas latched together (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gump). What you won't immediately think of is a lump of dirt that sometimes opens to a magical world.

Most of the book though deals with the rescue of Raymond Trotter, the presumed prince of the Island. The rescuers have help from the grandson of the old nanny, both of who live in the basement of Trotter Towers.

Reviews I've read of The Secret of Platform 13 compare the relationship between Raymond Trotter and Ben to Dudley and Harry. They also see similarities in how Mrs. Trotter and Mrs. Dursley treat both boys. Yes, there are physical similarities between Raymond and Dudley but that's because they both fall on the old cliché of making very wealthy people spoiled and fat. As far as the two women go, Mrs. Trotter is actually nice to Ben than Mrs. Dursley is to Harry. Mrs. Trotter doesn't lock the boy up under the stairs, don't deprive him of food or deprive him of love and affection. He is treated as a servant, not as an abused child. He gets love and affection from the woman he believes to be his grandmother.

So having read most (not all) of the Harry Potter series, I don't think Harry Potter plagiarizes The Secret of Platform 13. I do however think that Ibbotson is the better writer.

Renee Delcourt

This was soooo close to a five star book for me. I loved the highjinks and the whimsey of the story. The only reason it was a 4.5 stars rather than 5 was because it was extremely obvious from the begining where the plot was going. 

I think overall this is a great middle grade whether it's for your young readers or your looking for a read aloud book. It's funny and silly and unique.

Amrie Cruz

Kate Lillie

Jacqueline Jordan 

Anna Bold

Marta Costa 🐰

Connie

Nicole Sonja

Haley Murray

tabata gallina

Cassidy

Lila Harrison

Lucía RG

Under Platform 13 at King's Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island . . . It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle, who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued. Shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, The Secret of Platform 13 is an exciting magical adventure from Eva Ibbotson, the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea. 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight' Philip Pullman