I was very fortunate to have a family who supported me at home while I recovered. There was so much to learn and with every answer came more questions; soon, the questions became bigger and tougher. What am I going to do with my life? How can I get a job when I don’t remember school? Who am I, really? I think this story could really do with a map at the beginning, laying out the world for the reader as it would be easier to visualise what we are reading.

Jayben and the Golden Torch - Hachette Childrens UK Jayben and the Golden Torch - Hachette Childrens UK

But could somebody like me, with such a terrible memory, really write a book? It seemed almost impossible, but not quite. And if something is not impossible, then you can do it. I loved this book – a triumphant and richly imagined fantasy as well as a compelling insight into life with seizures and memory loss. I can’t wait to see where this story goes!’– Lee Newbery, author of The Last Firefox Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Then I was told that it was possible that my memories might not actually be gone, they were just hard to reach. Maybe something from my past could jog them. My hopes ballooned. I just needed to find a key, and so my search began. The night before my 30th birthday, I decided to try to accept that he was simply gone – for ever. I was planning a 1980s-themed party and had started preparing a playlist of 80s music. It was late. I went to bed, plugged my earphones in and closed my eyes. I started skipping from one classic to the next, adding each tune to the playlist. After 10 years of listening to the radio, I knew them all by heart.

Thomas Leeds Press Reviews

The moment I finished this book I had to sit quietly, as I was blown away by what I had just read. A modern classic of children’s fantasy with a necessary hero — a boy with seizures and memory loss. It’s a magical tale that explores family and friendship, collective hope and memory against hatred and greed, and bravery. I loved it.

Jayben and the An Action-Packed Fantasy: Read Our Review of Jayben and the

Jayben discovers that many moons ago, a giant put a dark spell on the golden torch, and the elves forgot everything that had come before. Now they hang precious memories in jars on trees, just to try to remember. Inspired by his own experience of memory loss after a brain injury, author Thomas Leeds introduces us to Jayben, a boy who can’t remember anything before the age of six. Leeds layers his young protagonist with his lived experience. It’s also refreshing to see a character who lives with seizures. This fantastic representation is extremely significant for kids and readers who might identify with Jayben so that they might see themselves as the hero of their story. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments I went to a lot of the places I was told I had been to as a child, all the parks and shops and old schools. I went to places we’d been to on holiday and travelled the tube on the routes I had taken in my teens. We tried everything, but as time went on, the boy with my name in so many stories and grainy photographs remained another person in another world. Inspired by the author's uniquely personal experience of memory-loss comes an incredible, immersive fantasy series about a boy with no memories and a world that only he can save. Perfect for fans of Francesca Gibbons and The Land of Roar.

'If something is not impossible, then you can do it'

The story is rich and layered but we as the reader discover it along with Jayben, who has lost all his memories, but involves an elven world, magical powers, a cruel villain making everyone forget, and a race against time. It has all the trappings of a solid hero story. I think there were just too many new names and plot ideas for the story to be easy to follow - every creature, place and food had a totally unfamiliar and unusual name, and whilst this was interesting it meant it interrupted the flow of my reading constantly trying to remember what was what! If Jayben can find his own magic and ignite the torch with its fierce violet flame, his power will be unstoppable... Can Jayben save the world before the lights go out forever?

Jayben and the Golden Torch: Jayben and the Golden Torch

Waking up in a strange land, Ben finds he has no memories at all. Not even of his own name. But someone seems to think he is a long-awaited saviour for a world being consumed by greed and evil. But no matter how alien their surroundings, the heroes I loved never forgot their names. They always knew what they'd done yesterday. And their quests were never rudely interrupted by seizures, forcing them to rest for many hours. No matter what they'd overcome or how impressive their victories, they all got there without my particular difficulties. When you live with a disability or illness that matters, especially in childhood. From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: This book starts with us meeting Ben, an unhappy boy who suffers from seizures. He is living with his aunt, who doesn't like him very much. After having a weird dream, Ben has a seizure and suddenly we find ourselves in another world. Here we meet Jayben, an elfling who wakes up with no memory of who he is or where he's from. Jayben goes on a journey to try to find his memories and on that journey he discovers that he is the Ninth Dreamer and the key to saving both the Earth and Elf world. He also makes friends with a group of beings who help him and each other to overcome their fears. An evil villain called Null is burning down the forests, hellbent on finding the torch and becoming the most powerful being ever to live.

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Having researched the author on finishing the story I learned that he suffered a traumatic brain injury as a young adult and suffers from seizures and memory loss himself. They say to write what you know, and I think that is why this aspect of the story read very realistically. So often seizures in fiction are depicted as the end or a sign of someone worsening, we so rarely get to see people living with seizures and living through them. There are so many people, especially kids, dealing with this right now who need a hero like Jayben, to see themselves. Ben has lived with his unkind Aunt Samantha for six years. He has no memory of his parents or why they left him. In fact, he has no memories at all of the first six years of his life. And the brain injury that stole his memories also causes him to have seizures. But a new darkness grows among them… An evil villain called Null is burning down the forests, hellbent on finding the torch and becoming the most powerful being ever to live.