Genre: MG Fantasy
Date Published: June 1, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★
The lake has been calling to twelve-year-old Vivi Conway. On the day she and her Mams will move from Wales to London, she sneaks out to investigate what is calling her there. Instead of a quiet swim, she finds Excalibur (much smaller than she expected), a ferocious monster (much scarier in real life than in her mythology books), a new friend (which she doesn’t want at all) called Dara and a ghostly dog named Gelert (who can talk).
Gelert insists that Vivi is part of a magical group of children who share the souls of witches from legend and must protect the world from being taken over by the evil King Arawn of the Otherworld. Oh, and now she can magically control water. With a little extra help from spiky Stevie and sweet-hearted Chia, Vivi must come to terms with her magical destiny and be brave enough to embrace true friendship.
The first book in a fantastical series that combines a quest for magic and friendship with Welsh mythology and a pinch of science, all within a contemporary setting.
Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend: My Thoughts
I’ve been following Hux, the author, on social media for a couple of years now and admiring their work from afar. When I discovered that they’re Welsh like me, I was strangely happy about that. When I found out that they were writing a book based on Welsh mythology, I was beyond excited. So when, recently, I was asked if I could join the blog tour for said book… I was practically jumping for joy. So, as you’d guess, I had high hopes.
And oh my goodness, what an absolutely wonderful book this is.
The Story & Writing
Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend follows 12-year-old Vivi as she and her Mums move from rural North Wales to the hustle and bustle of a London terrace. This would be a big change for anyone, but as Vivi is autistic, the change is even more of a shake-up of the life she knows and loves – and moving house isn’t going to be the only thing that changes her life.
When she finds herself wrapped up in a thrilling but terrifying and even life-threatening mystery, as well as suddenly having the power to magically control water, Vivi has to deal with more than she ever bargained for. Will Vivi and her new friends be able to make it out alive?
As I mentioned at the beginning, as soon as I knew this story was going to be based on Welsh mythology, I was ecstatic. Wales has some of the BEST myths and legends, and I always stand by the opinion that they need to be told more, whether in the form of the original Mabinogion, or adapted in other ways like Vivi Conway.
This book definitely didn’t disappoint on that front. It perfectly balances the Welsh mythology with a contemporary adventure story filled with a cast of loving heroes. It’s exciting, emotional, and sometimes even a bit scary, with monsters lurking behind every corner. Cliffhanger lovers won’t be disappointed: there were several times when I had to stop at the end of the chapter and had to force myself to put the book down because I had to go and be a boring adult, but I wanted to carry on until I’d read the whole thing.
The use of Welsh language is a really great move too, and caters well to people who do or don’t speak the language. As someone who studied Welsh up until the age of 18 but hasn’t spoken it very much since, I felt smug that I understood most of the Welsh words; but if you are someone who has never spoken or even heard a word of Welsh, it’s not too daunting, either. It all blends in nicely, explains what things mean, and there’s even a handy glossary and pronunciation guide at the end.
The Representation
It wouldn’t be one of my reviews without talking about the representation, and this book has a really wonderful mix of diverse characters. The representation includes an autistic main character, various ethnicities, physical disability, and LGBTQ+ (Vivi has two Mums). There’s a really lovely, heartfelt conversation between the group of friends in the second half the book where they’re all talking about what makes them different, with Vivi’s friend Dara talking about being non-binary, and Stevie and Vivi talking about the difference between physical and invisible disabilities.
You can tell from the truthful and sincere writing that the author themself is autistic, because Vivi’s character feels so authentic and doesn’t use harmful stereotypes that we so often see used for autistic characters (I’m looking at you, Sia’s film Music, or Freddie Highmore’s character in The Good Surgeon, both of which went down like a lead balloon on social media for their awful characterisations). We see Vivi experience an autistic meltdown, and how people’s words can be harmful, although unintentionally; I also love the more “behind the scenes” things we don’t usually see, like Vivi having to get home and sleep after a hard day in order to to de-stimulate her brain. This is aided by Vivi’s parents who are so supportive and lovely.
All of this representation fills the book with such warmth and inclusion, and I hope more children are able to see themselves reflected in these characters.
Conclusion
Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend is an absolute gem of a book, combining tales of mystery and adventure with genuine emotion and heartfelt characterisations. I am ridiculously excited to read more about Vivi and her crew’s adventures, and I hope we don’t have to wait too long to see what they get up to next!
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Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend, written by Lizzie Huxley-Jones and published by Knights Of, comes out on June 1st. Find out more and pre-order your copy here, or wherever you get your books!
About the Author
Lizzie Huxley-Jones (they/them) is an autistic author and
editor based in South London.
They grew up in Rhuddlan, North Wales, and spent their childhood romping around the old castles, windswept coastline, awe-inspiring mountains and deep lakes of the Welsh landscape, exploring the real settings of the stories their Dad shared with them – many from a VHS tape called Tales of Wales.
They moved to London almost 10 years ago, having lived in various areas before settling in Croydon in 2018, where they live now with their partner and dog, Nerys. In previous jobs, they’ve worked as a research diver, a children’s bookseller and a digital communications specialist.
Huxley-Jones was formally diagnosed as autistic aged 26, which has given them a better understanding of themselves and their experiences as a child – many of which are reflected in Vivi’s story. Now, they are a vocal advocate of the importance of representative stories for all young readers and write joyful stories that centre queerness and disability.
They are the editor of Stim, an anthology of autistic authors and artists, published in April 2020 to coincide with World Autism Awareness Week. They are also the author of the children’s biography Sir David Attenborough: A Life Story (2020), the queer holiday rom-com Make You Mine This Christmas (2022) and a contributor to the anthology Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, And Trying Again (2021), which was chosen to be a World Book Day Title for 2023, renamed as Being an Ally (2023).
Follow the Blog Tour!
If you want to follow along with the rest of the tour, here are the other blogs that will be taking part:
