Sally Hemingway never meant to fall into a poster.

But one lightning strike, one bad day, and one very peculiar bus shelter later, she finds herself in Boppington, a backwards world where time runs in reverse, “ugly” is beautiful, and a birthmark like hers isn’t something to hide… it’s a badge of honour.

Alongside her best friend Louis, a malfunctioning Translator Mark IV, and three spectacularly misunderstood animals, Karl the Proboscis monkey, Victoria the hairless Chinese crested dog, and Roald the emotionally volatile ibis, Sally discovers that being different in Sydney made her feel small. But in Boppington? It might just make her powerful.

When the portal back is accidentally destroyed, the group must hide in the very world that never accepted them. But the only way home… is to remake the magic from scratch.

With bullies closing in, magic leaking between worlds, and a shimmer that may never open again, Sally must do something she’s never done before:

Stand out.

A backwards, inside-out, heart-right-side-up adventure about self-acceptance, friendship, and the wild, magical beauty of being different.

For readers aged 8–12, who love the Narnia Chronicles, Alice In Wonderland and anyone who’s ever felt like a walking question mark.