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The Strangeworlds Travel Agency

(Strangeworlds Travel Agency #1)

L.D. Lapinski (Goodreads Author) (著)

4.26 · Rating details · 672 ratings · 175 reviews

Pack your suitcase for a magical adventure! Perfect for fans of Nevermoor and The Train to Impossible Places.

At the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, each suitcase transports you to a different world. All you have to do is step inside . . .

When 12-year-old Flick Hudson accidentally ends up in the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, she uncovers a fantastic secret: there are hundreds o ...more

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Paperback, 376 pages

Published April 27th 2020 by Orion Children's Books

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Average rating 4.26 ·

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· 672 ratings · 175 reviews

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Mar 11, 2020 Gavin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, 2020-reads

Imagine stepping into a suitcase and ending up in a jungle, or an enchanted forest, or a bright, bustling city filled with magic. Because that’s The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, the first book in a new series.

I want to step back into this world again and I’ve just finished it! We follow Flick who stumbles upon the travel agency that is ran by one young man - Jonathan - who oversees many different suitcases that open up to other worlds within the multiverse. It’s dangerous, but it’s exciting. I ...more

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Apr 20, 2020 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewing-by-request, sent-by-publisher, childrens-fiction, 2020-release, arc, own-read, uk-author

Twelve-year-old Flick Hudson, her mum, dad and little brother Freddy moved to their new home in the village of Little Wyverns, but Flick knew she’d hate it. She would miss her friends, the city – how could this little place be better than where she’d lived all her life? After a few days of helping her parents to unpack, Flick left the house to do some exploring. The village’s shops were fine but when she saw the small, old building with a sign which said “StrangeWorlds Travel Agency” she was cur ...more

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Jan 15, 2021 josh sorensen rated it it was ok

really struggled to click with this one, has all the pieces to be something i like and yet...?

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Jul 20, 2020 Jasmine rated it really liked it

Shelves: middlegrade, read-in-2020, 2020-releases

4,5! This was so much fun! If you like middle grade I highly recommend it!

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Sep 04, 2020 Pris rated it liked it

A fun, adventurous middle grade! It didn’t fully hook me, but I had a good time reading it 😊✨

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Dec 05, 2020 Gabriela Pop rated it it was amazing

A NEWFOUND FAVOURITE MIDDLEGRADE!! Every year at Christmastime in the bookshop, I have one middlegrade title that I think is so fantastic and versatile that I want to (and actually do!) recommend it to everyone shopping for their children/ grand-children/ weird neighour's child that they know nothing of but feel obligated to buy a book. THIS IS THIS YEAR'S BOOK!
STRANGEWORLDS TRAVEL AGENCY is a wonderful story from start to finish - full of heart, whimsy and adventure, as well as twists and turn ...more

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May 15, 2020 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Felicity Hudson may only be twelve, but a family house move from a city to a village, combined with the scary prospect of a new school after the summer, means Flick has to grab chances to explore whenever she can. And what she comes across wandering down a Victorian arcade is a shabby shopfront:

Beside the church, leaning drunkenly into the alleyway, was a tiny, squashed-looking shop with a big bay window [which] looked the same as the other shops on the street: old, unpopular, rather unloved, an

Beside the church, leaning drunkenly into the alleyway, was a tiny, squashed-looking shop with a big bay window [which] looked the same as the other shops on the street: old, unpopular, rather unloved, and as though it might have a bit of a weird smell.

This is the travel agency of the title. And a very odd travel agency it is with, unsurprisingly, a clue in its name. But first of all Flick has to cross the threshold, after which the things will never be the same. Is it fate that has driven her here?

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency turns out to be a classic portal fantasy, allowing access to places beyond our own mundane existence, places where magic exists and may be made visible when looking through a special magnifying glass. Do you remember Newt Scamander's case from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Just like Newt's container the suitcases of the agency open up to allow one to enter not merely an expanded TARDIS-like space but alien worlds; and yet like those viewed by Will in The Subtle Knife not all worlds are like Earth, nor are they without peril.

Flick's human guide is the young-looking yet old-fashioned eighteen-year-old Jonathan Mercator, the only member of staff at the agency. And when he discovers she can see otherwise invisible phenomenon in a special magnifying glass he invites her to join the secret Strangeways Society, with the possibility of travelling to other worlds in the multiverse.

But something is wrong at the presumed 'hub' of this multiverse, the city of Five Lights, where streets are disappearing and magic is leaking away; and it's somehow related to a guild of thieves and the mysterious disappearance of Jonathan's father. Is the crisis something that Jonathan and Flick can start to address or will a disagreement come between them?

This is a rip-roaring and assured debut fantasy, and a promising start to a planned series. Yes, there are echoes of other fantasies but the author has blazed her own unique path through an otherwise well-trodden terrain, and has narrated it with a distinctive voice and an engaging style. I loved the sometimes fractious interplay between the precocious Flick and the pretentious Jonathan; I liked the echoes of mapmaking and exploration in names such as Mercator and Hudson, and the amusing names of thieves such as Pinch, Swype and Nicc; I wondered at the likelihood that a village would be called Little Wyverns; and I approved that moral issues such as cheating and lying were being wrestled with by some of the characters, and that Flick's home situation -- not the easiest with both parents working, plus a toddler brother into everything -- meant that, possibly unfairly, she was faced with big responsibilities for her age.

There is a satisfying resolution to this first instalment after an exciting roller-coaster ride, but the several loose ends -- Jonathan's missing father, the mystery about the founder of the Strangeworlds Society, the fate of the Overseer of the Thieves of First Lights, the nature of the so-called schisms that can be contained in the Society's suitcases, and how it is that an ordinary schoolgirl has the magical abilities that she has -- all point at welcome sequels yet to come. As the final sentence hints, the agency's door -- like its suitcases, and like the covers of a book -- is a two-way portal.

She stepped through the door of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, out of one world and into another.

...more

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May 20, 2020 Jet rated it it was amazing

• r e v i e w • b o o k • a p p r e c i a t i o n •
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski. Thankyou @hachettebooks @hachetteaus @hachettekids for sending me this book to review.

Published on 28 April 2020
Suitable for ages 9+

Synopsis: When 12 year old Flick finds herself in Strangelands Travel Agency she uncovers hundreds of other worlds locked within suitcases. The invitation of a lifetime presents itself... join the agency and embark on magical adventures. One such adventure uncovers ...more

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Sep 16, 2020 Daniella rated it really liked it

I loved this book. It might be the best book* I read this year. I also don't remember a lot of books I read pre...the before times, so this could be hyperbole. The point is this is a wonderful book.

(*Edit - just remembered I read The Starless Sea this year, seriously 2020 is a mess, so unfortunately this has been relegated to being the second best book I read this year.)

I've found with the state of the world these days and struggling to not stress about every little thing that middle grade level ...more

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Aug 30, 2020 Jade rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star-rating-2020

This book was a soiled start to a series, but it just missed the mark slightly for me. In this book we follow Flick as she moves to a small town with her family and discovers the strangeworlds travel agency and all the magic and wonder hidden safe inside.
This book promised me other world adventures on every page. I get that we need the world building and set up for where the series is going to go, but there was just a little too much fluff and not enough excitement.
That being said I can't wait ...more

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Aug 02, 2020 Estelle Tudor rated it it was amazing

Ok, just wow! Loved this from the very first page and couldn't put it down. Very reminiscent of the Discworld books, Dr Who and Fantastic Beasts. I just loved the concept - I mean who wouldn't want to step into a suitcase an immediately be transported to magical worlds? I need to find me a Strangeworlds Travel Agency now! Our heroine Flick is brave, adventurous and clever, she takes it all in her stride and is a great foil to the quirky Jonathan. Together they travel through the suitcase and mak ...more

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Jun 12, 2020 Becca Fowell rated it really liked it

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me with the e-ARC of this book.
I didn't really have any high (or low) expectations for this book, as it's a really new book from a debut author so didn't know what to expect, but this was so fun and whimsical and I had such a fun time reading it.

Flick accidentally stumbles upon The Strangeworld's Travel Agency when exploring the new town she's just moved to and when Jonathan, who runs the shop, tells her she's got the gift of being able to se ...more

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Apr 11, 2020 Ashleigh rated it it was amazing

A fantastic book that has all the magic of my favourites in a new and fun way.

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Aug 07, 2020 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Some books you just know you are going to enjoy from the off and this book was no exception. Flick took me on a magical journey with her into the many exciting worlds within the Strangeworlds Travel Agency. Beautifully written yet easy to read I was left wanting more and more there will be, I am sure, because there are plenty more suitcases, more mysteries to solve and what does the wooden jewellery box have to do with it all...
I will definitely be reading this to my class, not as a book to stud ...more

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Nov 16, 2019 Jamie-Lee Turner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: proofs, forever-library

All the words in the multiverse cannot describe how joyful and magical this book is.

L. D. Lapinski has somehow managed to bundle magic, adventure, hope and family into a quaint little suitcase that smells of tea and biscuits and in the process opened up a whole universe of adventures for children(and adults) everywhere.

Flick is instantly loveable and her and Jonathan make a truly brilliant duo as they dive through the multiverse in an effort to save it.

Filled with peril, adventure, magic and fri ...more

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Dec 20, 2019 Jen Gallagher added it

Shelves: childrens-fiction

The first book in what is set to be a children's classic series sees twists, turns, and dastardly baddies set to thwart Flick and Jonathan on their travels through the worlds inside suitcases. Lapinski is an author with a gift for seeing the magic and humour in all situations. This book is a magical ride through a multiverse of adventure, and readers young and old(er) won't be able to stand the wait to continue the journey. ...more

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Jul 29, 2020 Charlie Watkins rated it did not like it

Is it just me who finds the 'friendship' between an 18 year old boy and a 12 year old girl a bit uncomfortable? I'm not convinced that telling children it's okay to step into strange mens suitcases if they promise you it takes you to a magical world is the best idea ...more

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Apr 25, 2020 Laura Noakes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, middle-grade

This is VERY high praise, and I’m well aware of the connotations of the comparisons I’m making, but this book gave me serious DISCWORLD meets ROALD DAHL vibes, whilst at the same time being completely and utterly original in concept. It was fantastic–imaginative and full of wonder, with an irresistibly likeable main character in Flick. This is gonna be the next Big Thing, I can feel it.

Whilst reading THE STRANGEWORLD’S TRAVEL AGENCY, I was completely struck by the sheer amount of work and word b This is VERY high praise, and I’m well aware of the connotations of the comparisons I’m making, but this book gave me serious DISCWORLD meets ROALD DAHL vibes, whilst at the same time being completely and utterly original in concept. It was fantastic–imaginative and full of wonder, with an irresistibly likeable main character in Flick. This is gonna be the next Big Thing, I can feel it.

Whilst reading THE STRANGEWORLD’S TRAVEL AGENCY, I was completely struck by the sheer amount of work and word building that had obviously gone into crafting this book, and the multiverse it contains. It was extraordinary–each world felt like it could have been written about for a WHOLE BOOK, and that is the mark of creating a compelling and believable fantasy story. I adored the writing–it was gorgeous and fun at the same time, and at one point there was even a slinky reference! A SLINKY REFERENCE! (not gonna lie, reading that sentence made me want to dig out my old box of childhood treasures and bounce my slinky down the stairs!)

Flick, our main character, was fabulous. Sure of herself, a little too adult for her age, and living in a new house with very busy parents and a cute (but sometimes tiresome) baby brother. She was smart, loyal and utter believable as a kid in an extraordinary circumstance. I related to Jonathan, the acting custodian of the travel agency, a little too hard. He was only just an adult, and at one point in the book he mentioned wanting an adultier adult to help him–I CAN’T COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES I’VE THOUGHT THAT EXACT THING! Searching for his father, who mysteriously disappeared in another world before the events of the book, Jonathan is Flick’s erstwhile guide to being a world traveller. Their partnership and friendship was a delight.

The plot was fun, full of mystery, and entirely unpredictable. I was hooked from chapter one, and I devoured the story, desperate to find out the ending. The stakes were VERY high–a whole world was in danger–and the danger of that permeated the story. As I turned to the final page, I was very excited to see the words ‘To be continued’ written. This is the kind of story that almost begs for a sequel–I want to visit more worlds, I want to uncover more secrets about the Strangeworlds Travel Agency, but most of all, I want to see Jonathan and Flick go on more adventures. This is one of my favourite books of 2020 so far and I can’t wait to read more! ...more

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Aug 27, 2020 Mehsi rated it liked it

Shelves: octarine, the-butler-did-it, 3-twinkling-stars, warning-english-books, time-to-travel, children-s-books

Imagine a world where you can travel to other worlds with suitcases.

I have had my eyes on this one for a while and then I decided to buy it. While I did like the book, I don’t know it just missed something. Throughout the book it just felt incomplete. There was something missing that kept me from wanting to flip the pages.

I loved the beginning, I loved the travel agency, I love the idea that one can travel through suitcases, that there are so many worlds to discover. There are also rules which m ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 BooksForTopics rated it it was amazing

A flash-bang-crash of an adventure through weird and wonderful new worlds!

Pack your bags and get ready to hop into a world of adventures. I was drawn to the concept of this middle-grade fantasy from the start - a travel agency where you jump into a suitcase to be transported to hundreds of other worlds.

12-year-old Flick accidentally stumbles into the Strangeworlds Travel Agency shortly after moving to a new town. Quick to discover there’s something unusual here, curiosity gets the better of Flic ...more

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Jan 20, 2021 Sam Schroder rated it it was amazing

I loved the premise of this story, a travel agency that wasn’t quite what it purported to be. And then, I met the characters, harried and uncertain Flick who stumbled into the agency and Jonathan, who runs the agency, even though he seems like maybe he’s still a bit of a kid himself.
But this is no ordinary travel agency. The suitcases are all portals to other worlds and when Flick’s magic is revealed, it is obvious that she and Jonathan are meant to go on some adventures together.
I loved every ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 Vicky rated it it was amazing

I was absolutely delighted to be able to read this, because it has been highly recommended to me on twitter. It did not disappoint one bit!

This was a thrill ride the whole way through, I only picked it up this morning and I've already devoured it. I love the magic system - the schisms in the suitcases, so fascinating and now I want to go on an otherworlds adventure of my own. There was mystery, intrigue...so many different things that I enjoyed. Jonathan and Flick were both highly likeable chara ...more

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Apr 28, 2020 A N N A rated it really liked it

I was sent an early copy at work by the publishers in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this, it was unique and fascinating.

I can see why people have compared this to Terry Pratchett’s work because it definitely has the fantastical tone of his Discworld work as well as Roald Dahl, and I can see this being a big favourite. I will definitely be recommending it at work when the world starts to reopen itself again.

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Jun 20, 2020 Stanisław Grabowski rated it it was amazing

oh god this was just so lovely!! the world is so strange and imaginative and just so FUN!! the whimsy!!! the sass!!! the nuanced, lovable characters!!! I would die for flick and jonathan. exactly the kind of book I wanted to read.

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May 08, 2020 UWE Primary English Team rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adventure, friendship, dan, mg, magic, year-6, year-5, series, year-4

Dan: What wonderful worlds!! My oh my, this is an excellent excellent start to what promises to be a truly outstanding MG series! The world building is imaginative and the whole book is filled to the brim with excellent world building, brilliant plot development and so many tantalising questions that are just begging to be answered! A stunning adventure and I'm so glad it's only just getting started... ...more

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Jul 10, 2020 Kat Steiner rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrens-and-ya, speculative-fiction

A charming story with flavours of His Dark Materials, the Magic Faraway Tree, and Harry Potter.

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Jul 16, 2020 Michele rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A fun and delightfully charming adventure.

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Jul 27, 2020 Dreximgirl rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this a lot! It has brilliant characters and a complex but not confusing plot. I especially love Flick, she was courageous and bold but caring too. Really really good story.

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Aug 01, 2020 Lily rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020, fantasy, children-s

4.5 stars!

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Jul 31, 2020 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arcs

This is a fantastical magical adventure for kids of all ages. it has been far too long since i have found a children's release that is this good. with writing and adventures that is reminiscent of Roald Dahl and The Magic Faraway Tree. this story is so wonderfully constructed and will appeal to kids who enjoyed Chris Colfer's Land of stories. the characters were fun quirky and believable and the worlds so full of wonder and depth, i cant wait to see where this goes. ...more

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About L.D. Lapinski

L.D. Lapinski

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L. D. Lapinski is the author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series of children’s books. The first novel was published in April 2020 by Orion Children’s (UK), and will be published in May 2021 by Aladdin S&S.

L. D. Lapinski lives just outside Sherwood Forest with their family, a lot of books, and a cat called Hector. L.D. first wrote a book when they were seven; it was made of lined paper and s ...more