- Chapter Books
- Ages 9–12
- Science Fiction
Into the Sideways World
Part of the Ross Welford universeOpen the collection
A twisty parallel-world adventure in which two friends slip into a cleaner, kinder version of their own town and race to prove it is real before war engulfs the world they left behind. Vintage Welford: a huge sci-fi idea wrapped around ordinary kids and a real-world message about climate and conflict.
- Best for9–12
- FormatChapter
- Length416 pp
- Read aloud~5 hr55 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
Tone
- Exciting
- Thought provoking
- Suspenseful
- Warm
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
When twelve-year-olds Willa and Manny hear rumours of a strange animal prowling their North East town, they set out to prove it exists. Following the creature into a cave one full-moon night, they are swept into an alternate, better version of their own world – one where pollution and conflict were solved decades ago, and even their families seem happier. But when they cross back, no one believes a word of it. And with a global war looming in their own world, their hunt for proof of the Sideways World becomes a desperate, ticking-clock quest. Ross Welford spins another high-concept adventure that folds climate change and the shadow of pandemic into a genuinely gripping story, without ever losing the ordinary, funny voices of two kids in over their heads. Fast, inventive and quietly hopeful, it argues that a better world is possible – and that noticing it is the first step to building it.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Aimed squarely at 9–12s, working equally well read independently or aloud. The concept stretches confident younger readers, while the climate-and-conflict backdrop gives older ones plenty to think and talk about.
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- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 9–12
- Independent · 9–12
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Low
Reluctant-reader friendly
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
2 / 5 · Mild
Best for
- Sci fi adventure
- Parallel worlds
- Environmental themes
Avoid if
- Wants light bedtime
Particularly good for children who are…
- Interested in science
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Slipping through a cave into a cleaner, happier version of your own town is an irresistible what-if, and Willa and Manny are ordinary kids you root for. The ticking-clock chase to prove the Sideways World is real keeps the pages flying.
- Secret world
- Making a difference
- Adventure and freedom
- Surviving danger
Why parents love it
Welford threads climate change and conflict through a gripping parallel-world adventure that never lectures. It hands young readers a genuinely hopeful argument – that a better world is possible – and makes a natural springboard for talking about the environment.
- Conversation starter
About the author
Ross Welford.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
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