Brogen Murphy

Financial Times (Best Summer Books of 2025)

Occasionally books come along that you know will stay in your heart for a long time, and Wildlands is one of them.

Vashti Hardy, author of the Brightstorm series

Murphy's family drama is set against a backdrop of bigger issues, and the environmental and domestic concerns are neatly interwoven. The idyllic setting, meanwhile, offers a narrative of hope: there are things that humans can do to control and save the world, on both the micro and macro level.

Set in an imaginary near-future, this environmental adventure is full of incredible lost animals and plants. It's a tense, exciting story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Convincing and affecting, this classic-in-the-making keeps things nail-bitingly real.

Set in a utopian landscape and addressing big questions about humanity's relationship with the environment, this is a gripping and refreshingly original story of survival against the odds. Engrossing, thrilling and thought-provoking.

At the core of this book is a story about tenacity, sisterly love and hope all wrapped up in a brilliant adventure. Chapter after chapter is filled with emotional depth, adventurist dilemmas and thought-provoking conversation starters around what Britain’s ecological future might look like – a brilliant read!

Winner of the Wainwright Children's Prize for Fiction 2025 
 
A UTOPIAN FUTURE. 
A FORBIDDEN WILDERNESS. 
TWO KIDS TRYING TO SURVIVE. 
 
Twenty-five years into the future, no humans are allowed in the Wildlands – a vast area in Britain where wolves, lynx and bison roam free. The only exception is a high-speed train line between London and Glasgow that crosses right through the heart of the project. Thirteen-year-old Astrid and her little sister, Indie, are onboard when their train slows to a brief, unexpected stop … and they find themselves accidentally left behind. Stranded in this place of astonishing natural wonders and terrible dangers, they have only a rucksack, a phone without signal – and each other. As every wrong turn takes them deeper into the Wildlands, do they have the ingenuity and determination to survive? 
How far would YOU go to find your way home? 
Perfect for fans of THE EXPLORER and THE LAST WILD, this riveting and emotional story takes place in an imagined future teeming with lost flora and fauna that we can only dream about encountering today. 
 
LONGLISTED FOR THE CHILDREN'S WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025

Brogen Murphy

Praise for Wildlands

A vivid, memorable eco-adventure

Occasionally books come along that you know will stay in your heart for a long time, and Wildlands is one of them.

Murphy's family drama is set against a backdrop of bigger issues, and the environmental and domestic concerns are neatly interwoven. The idyllic setting, meanwhile, offers a narrative of hope: there are things that ...

A vivid, memorable eco-adventure

Occasionally books come along that you know will stay in your heart for a long time, and Wildlands is one of them.

Murphy's family drama is set against a backdrop of bigger issues, and the environmental and domestic concerns are neatly interwoven. The idyllic setting, meanwhile, offers a narrative of hope: there are things that ...

A vivid, memorable eco-adventure

Occasionally books come along that you know will stay in your heart for a long time, and Wildlands is one of them.

Murphy's family drama is set against a backdrop of bigger issues, and the environmental and domestic concerns are neatly interwoven. The idyllic setting, meanwhile, offers a narrative of hope: there are things that ...

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