Once upon a time there were seven groups of Weatherlings. Then a Rogue created the worst storm Earth has ever seen, Storm Tornadia, and since that time rainbow Weatherlings have been extinct. ‘I thought rainbows were just made up?’ All that remain are Weatherlings of “Sun, snow, rain, cloud, wind, thunder ‘n’ lightning.” And I loved that she went from Ray Grey with grey hair to Rainbow Grey with awesome rainbow hair (which I definitely wanted). My favourite character was Ray’s cloud-cat. Nim may not get any lines but they’re definitely the comic relief. His eyes aren’t always where you expect them to be and he’s not the most reliable form of transport in Celestia but I absolutely adored this defective cloud-companion. The main thing I love about this book is the world. There's just something so magical about it as it's a book that goes beyond my own imagination. I could not have conjured some of this up myself and fortunately we have gorgeous illustrations to help us visualise this whimsical world. There's a richness to it with stories and history that helps guide the characters in the present, and I have a feeling we are going to continue to learn so much about this world (like how Nocturnia and beyond is so richly imagined in the Amelia Fang series too). There are many highlights of this book, including the characters. Ray Grey is such a joy to follow as she is bold, courageous and someone I think a lot of kids will look up to (just like Amelia in the Amelia Fang series). Her friendship with Snowden and Droplett is so uplifting, I had so much fun watching how they interact with one another and what they do in situations that are out of their comfort zone. Their powers are also really cool! (Also, the cameo of Gusty Gavin is just the greatest thing to ever happen in literature, ever!)

One day, she finds an old book at the library, and that book has a map with an X. It's a map from Earth and along with her cloud friend, Nim, she goes to Earth to see what the treasure is. I especially loved Ray's parents. Her mum is an engineer having all sorts of tools in her hair so she can reach them faster. Rainbow Grey may be only ten years old but the future of the whole world depends on her! It's up to Ray to defeat Tornadia Twist - the greatest villain that ever lived . . . I was very very sad when Amelia Fang ended, but oh so excited when I heard that Laura Ellen Anderson was going to write a new series featuring weather, rainbows, and more!

The ending was amazing, full of rainbows, saving the forest, magic, and also a nice epilogue which made me want to grab the next book, only realising it isn’t out yet! ARGH! No! The second book in a magical new series from best-selling author and illustrator, Laura Ellen Anderson! Ten-year-old Ray Grey lives in the magical Weatherlands, high in the sky! She is surrounded by Weatherlings with astounding weather power at their fingertips … but poor Ray doesn't have ANY magic! Bonuspoints go to Nim the cutest and most explosive cloudcat in existence. I just loved that little fluff cloud and I had some laughs seeing his face on places you may not want your face to be (though I guess for a cat it is all perfect). All in all, I will finish this review though I still got many feels, this was a magical book with magical characters and tons and tons of fun!

But poor old Ray has no magic. Instead she wants to become an Earth explorer when she grows up, just like the hero of adventure stories written by LaBlaze... I loved Ray’s parents. Her father who spends most of his time on Earth as he has to protect it against the rogue weatherlings. Her mom who works with clouds and silver lining (yes, really).

About Laura Ellen Anderson

I just couldn’t take Snowden’s name serious. I am sorry, if I was a kid I would probably not even know, but as someone 18+ that name just was a distraction. I kept thinking of that other Snowden. XD Ray is getting used to life as Rainbow Grey – she now has ALL the magical weather powers at her fingertips, although she hasn’t quite mastered them yet! Ray Grey lives in the city of Celestia, a kingdom in the sky where she is surrounded by weatherlings with weather magic. Ray has no magic of her own but vows to be an Earth Explorer like her hero, La Blaze DeLight. When she takes a forbidden journey to Earth, she finds herself transformed into Rainbow Grey, possessing rainbow magic that has been missing from the world for centuries.

I think Kiddo (10) could have read this by herself. We shared it as a bedtime read and ... to me it was patently obvious who the "Baddie" was going to be from the moment of meeting them. Ray Grey is an 11 year old (because the Eclipse only happens every 11 years), living in a magical world of Weatherlings - everyone has a weather power eg. Pals Snowden and Droplett controlling - or learning to - snow and rain, or more often puddles.

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The book’s villain? I guess it right from the start. That sounds pretty bad, but that character was just acting a tad too suspicious and their pigeon (who I wasn’t a fan of) was also way too sus. I was kind of hoping for a twist but no in the end it was them. They were a good villain though and I could also understand why they went down this path (well, at least partially, their other reason was just silly). I am glad with how things ended with this character, not sure if I can fully trust them yet, but um, I can try. Ten-year-old Ray Grey lives in the magical Weatherlands, high in the sky. Ray is surrounded by Weatherlings with astounding weather power at their fingertips, but she doesn't have ANY magic... Until a trip to Earth to find some secret treasure changes Ray's life forever– and she becomes Rainbow Grey. You might think Ray would be envious of her classmates, who all have weather magic. She’s not, though, and I think I know the reason. While the rest of her class practice their weather magic, Ray gets to go to the library to read. She is transformed from Ray Grey intro RAINBOW GREY! With the help of her best friends (and exploding cloud cat, Nim) now all Ray has to do is master her powers AND save the world from the ultimate storm … Meet Ray Grey, yep, that is her normal name before her rainbow powers. She is a normal girl, well, very normal given that, unlike her friends, she doesn’t have any Weatherling power. She doesn’t mind though, instead spends time in the library when the others are honing their powers. I really liked Ray, she is a sweet and dedicated girl who is very motivated and doesn’t give up. I absolutely LOVED that she got rainbow powers and see her harness them, try to figure them out, try to make things work. I loved that she set her own path, and liked that we saw Earth through her eyes.

Amid all this action – and the farting-cloud-cat silliness you’d expect from the creator of the bestselling Amelia Fang books – is a book that lets in quieter moments too, and really focuses on the friendship between Ray and her pals Snowden and Droplett. Indeed, the end message is very much about how love, hope and togetherness will always triumph and give a person a strength they didn’t think they had.The magical world reminded me a little of My Little Pony (Friendship is Magic). I'm not sure if all the fart and bottom jokes were an attempt to cater to boys as well as girls? The second book is out March this year but I think we'll pass. I believe we read a couple of the Amelia Fang books when kiddo was younger and were a little nonplussed by them, but willing to give LEA another go, with a book/ new series aimed at slightly older kids? It was super obvious who this book’s villain was going to be and the resolution was a bit too sweet, but … adult reading a kid’s book here. I probably would have been blindsided by the reveal had I actually read this when I was the target audience. Ray is a Weatherling but she doesn’t have any weather magic. She does have a cloud-cat called Nim who changes shape and explodes without warning. She also has two best friends, know almost everything Snowden Everfreeze, whose think-flakes are all sorts of quirky, and homework averse orphan Droplett Dewbells, who can teleport between puddles. When all of the cloud creatures start disappearing – including Ray’s own beloved cloud cat, Nim – Ray and her friends have a mystery to solve. Ray is sure that a dark magic is behind the disappearances. Can she work out what is going on before cloud magic is lost forever and Earth is destroyed by the ultimate storm . . .?