Silverbrook: Yumna and the Golden Horse by Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Title: Silverbrook: Yumna and the Golden Horse

Author: Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult

Publisher: Hachette/Hodder Children’s Books

Published: 27^th January 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 230

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: Warm, funny, and zinging with imagination this thrilling MG fantasy adventure highlights the power of community. Perfect for readers of Tola Okogwu and Sharna Jackson, aged 9+.

In this quiet town, a magic awakens . . .

Thirteen-year-old Yumna lives in a sleepy town where nothing ever happens. So when her friends start sneaking into the woods at night, curiosity gets the better of her and she follows. There, she discovers something unbelievable. Kareem can turn into a golden horse. Sami can touch fire without burning. Even her cousin Nafisa has a strange new power. Everyone’s changing . . . except Yumna.

But when Kareem vanishes and a mysterious new family, the Maidstones, seem to be hiding something, Yumna is the only one asking the right questions. As secrets unravel and danger creeps closer, it’s up to Yumna to rally her friends and uncover the truth.

In a town full of secrets and powers, can one ordinary girl become the hero they all need?

~*~

Yumna lives in a sleepy village in England called Silverbrook, where she has good friends, her father, but she’s also the girl who is invisible, and unseen. Who feels left out at times despite choir, school and her other activities. But one day, she notices her friends starting to pull away around the time they start puberty. She’s becoming invisible, pushed out of the group and being pulled in different directions. There’s Mr Turner, who seems innocuous and quiet. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of him at first, but he was an intriguing character.

Then there’s the Monster everyone keeps seeing and the Maidstones who have just moved to the village…and they’re people Yumna’s father doesn’t want her to have anything to do with. They were very unsettling, as though their presence was a bad omen.

But Yumna finds out what is happening with her friends, but she feels like they’re ignoring her. She’s becoming invisible until she finds out some secrets about the people around her. Yumna is still pondering over her father’s warning to stay away from the Maidstones, who are inserting themselves seamlessly into every aspect of village life, coming across as genuine and helpful. They’re a pair of characters that nobody should trust. I had my antenna up about them from the start.

Yumna’s world starts to change when her cousin, Nafisa and friend, Sadeeqa, get strange new powers that seem to have appeared out of nowhere. They’re also spending more time with Sadeeqa’s brother Kareem and his friend Sami. But the secrets deepen when Kareem goes missing. This mystery is cleverly done, building towards something intriguing and fascinating that has shaped Yumna’s entire life, even though she doesn’t know.

The mystery is unique, something I have never seen before, and I was drawn into the story, wanting to know more about Yumna, the secrets and her culture. Because it is our culture that shapes who we are and how we see or interact with the world as much as where we grow up.

As Yumna’s adventure goes on, we learn more about her family, her heritage and her culture in an accessible and powerful way that positions her as a character that kids will love following and finding out more about. Fantasy and the real world are colliding in many ways in this book that feels filled with secrets on all sides.

The main characters in this book are Muslim, and seeing how they engage with their culture and other people in the community, how they were a significant part of their village was a powerful reminder and representation of the benefits of diversity and acceptance.

Fantasy can be written in so many ways, and I enjoy seeing how different authors navigate the fantasy genre and what they do with it. This one captured a vibrant culture, the modern world and family, community and the strength of community. It shows that it is possible to stand up to bullies and people who want to divide us whilst also showing the unity of a family and friends navigating secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, the mystery, the magic, and the characters. Yumna was awesome to get to know, and I hope kids who read this adore her just as much as I did,.