The Callers

Kiah Thomas, The Callers, HarperCollins Publishers, May 2022, 224 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781460762141 

Quintus Octavius, or Quin for short, is about to sit the test to be admitted as a Caller. Everyone in his family can do it – conjure items out of thin air by calling their names – except him. And it is unheard of for an Octavius not to be a Caller. His mother and sister are experts but nothing he tries works, so he is understandably stressed. 

The continent of Elipsom has a depleted environment so the only way to get enough food is to call it. However, what Quin discovers is that everything that is called doesn’t come from nowhere but from somewhere else, a place called Evantra on the other side of the planet which he didn’t even know existed. The residents of Evantra are required to grow the food for those in Elipsom and if there is enough left over, they can use it themselves. 

This comes as a great shock to Quin, revealed to him when he is called by Allie to Evantra. This is a breach of the rules because Evantrans are not supposed to be able to call and Callers are not supposed to summon people. Quin’s whole world is turned upside down by what he finds and the lies he has been told but his mother is determined to find him and call him back. I won’t spoil the plot and tell you anymore.  

This is an imaginative middle-grade fantasy with not only an intriguing premise behind it but also lots of ideas and themes that could be explored, especially in the classroom. There are sufficient ends left dangling to hope that there may be more adventures to come and that Allie and Quin can put things right. 

Reviewed by Lynne Babbage 

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