The North Star

The **North Star** is an epic urban fantasy young adult novel authored by T.J Oswald, which constitutes his debut publication. Based in the City of Sunderland and North East England, the story follows the tale of 17 year old Sophie Scott, whom living a downtrodden life with her negligent father, finds herself called to become an ancient hero of the book's title who must save the land of Northumbria from the dark wizard Glanfeoil.

Writing of the North Star commenced in the year 2021, and after numerous draft forms, was finally completed in early 2023, wherein offers to publish it were made. Simultaneously, a cinematic version has been proposed. The book is distinctive for being the first ever story of its kind based in the city of Sunderland, and for blending fantasy troupes with an overtly realist rendering of the region's culture, society and struggles. In doing so, it explores themes of domestic strife, friendship, sacrifice, forgiveness, race relations, disillusionment and redemption.

## Sypnosis

Sophie Scott is a 17-year-old girl living in Sunderland with her negligent and uncaring father, Eddie. Their relationship having been torn apart by the loss of her mother, Sophie dreams to attend the prestigious Durham University upon graduating from Sixth Form. However, her life is weighed down by her father’s reckless gambling addiction, who has gotten in debt to local loan shark Tony Radcliff, forcing her to work a demanding job simultaneously at a local pub. Tony threatens violence, as well as even rape, of Sophie in failure of repayment. Because of her situation, she continues to experience traumatic nightmares of her running through a forest.

At school, Millie leans on her best friend, Anglo-Chinese Millie Chen, while being bullied by the overtly jealous Bertha Bagshaw. As her grades suffer from the mounting stress, she goes on a walk out of depression, only to discover a mysterious stone on a beach with a star marked on it. That night, she is then attacked on her way home by a monstrous creature known as a Redcap, a metaphorical representation of anti-social behaviour in Sunderland derived from Northumbrian folklore. However, she is saved by the presence of a mystical woman who resembles her late mother.

Traumatized by the attack, but assuming it is all a dream, Sophie vows to carry on life at normal until a right-wing populist politician, William Parker-Fulton, discusses an unusual surge of crime around the city by such strange men. That evening, Sophie, Millie and school bully Bertha are attacked by the same monster again, with Sophie manifesting superhuman powers gained from the stone, as well as a magic sword in order to destroy it, saving Millie. Feeling emboldened, she then turns to her pub colleague Micky White for help in unravelling the emerging mystery around her, who points her to a local lout Liam Heskett who in turn tells her the gangster terrorizing her father, Tony Radcliff, is in fact responsible and is peddling a new and mysterious drug.

Enraged at her life circumstances, and the indifference of the law, Sophie leads Micky and Millie to rescue a young man who the Redcaps had kidnapped in a secret den and fights three more Redcaps, who unusually proclaim her as “the heir to King Oswald”, only to discover after that the police, as well as her school, seek to brand her culpable for the spree of attacks, leading to her suspension. After Sophie foils a robbery, she is then framed by the local newspaper as a lunatic, which draws Fulton’s attention to her. He pledges to support Sophie, and offers to get her back to school if she can help him foil a plot to still a mysterious staff somewhere in the region. Sophie, desperate, takes the offer, but at the expense of falling out with Millie who is repulsed by his racist and xenophobic policies.

However, Tony Radcliff, having learnt that Sophie is his opponent, proceeds to set up a trap for Sophie in Sunderland Museum, where she is ambushed by the police who then press a litany of charges against her. Escaping and on the run, Sophie hides with Micky at Liam’s house, where they capture and interrogate a policeman who states the clue to the magical staff they are seeking lies in the city of Durham. After being inspired by Micky’s parents, Micky and Sophie rescue Millie from Tony’s accomplice, where they make up. Aghast at the trouble she is dragging her daughter into, Sophie makes a promise to Millie’s mother upon explaining her situation that she will protect her friend at all costs, before heading to Durham.

The trio are then ambushed by armed police at Durham Cathedral, who seek to kill them on sight. Sophie is shot protecting Millie, fulfilling her promise and resulting in the same mysterious woman anointing her as a hero known as “The North Star”, complete with a set of magic armour. Sophie dispatches the attackers and is granted a riddle to find the staff, before rushing home to Sunderland to discover her father has been kidnapped by Tony Radcliff. Sophie confronts Tony at his base, but Eddie is shot in the crossfire as Tony corners her, only for himself to be killed by Micky. Eddie dies in his daughter’s arms, having fulfilled his love for his daughter by sacrificing himself for her.
Working out the staff is hidden at Lindisfarne, Holy Island, the group travel north to the ancient monastery and successfully recover it hidden in a cellar underneath a church, only for Millie then to be kidnapped by William Parker-Fulton and corrupt police chief David Simm, who demand her life in exchange for the Caenterstaff, Sophie complies and saves Millie, but is broken with grief over being conned by him.
Reunited with the magical staff, William Parker-Fulton, already elected as mayor of the region, then reveals himself to the city to be the ancient warlock Glanfeoil, enemy of King Oswald, and vows to build a new revolutionary order in the land of Northumbria.

Killing David Simm, he then proceeds to create hundreds of Redcaps, who ransack the city, terrorize its population, and trigger a response from the British government who understand it as an insurrection, threatening a military response. Meanwhile, Sophie is visited again by the mysterious woman, who reveals herself to be the spirit of her mother appointed as a guardian, and tasks her to fulfil her destiny of the North Star and vanquish the ancient evil. Sophie returns to the city, to find her nightmares in the forest were in fact a premonition of her encounter with Glanfeoil. Upon struggling to defeat him and the Redcap hordes alone, she then inspires local people to rise up and fight their occupiers, before confronting Glanfeoil himself in the main city centre. Glanfeoil easily defeats the North Star and destroys her stone, only for Sophie to manifest the power within her, deprive him of the staff with the help of Micky, and blast him into another universe, saving the city and destroying the Redcaps.

Successfully appealing to the government by video to call off military action, Sophie is interrogated by MI5 who demand jurisdiction over the use of her powers, but ultimately clear her name. Returning to her normal life, struck with loss, yet able to pursue her dreams, Sophie and Millie successfully pass their exams and are accepted into Durham University.

## Characters

* Sophie Scott- The main protagonist, a 17 year old girl striving to better her life, and working at an unwanted job in a pub, who is called to the title of an ancient warrior once held by Oswald of Northumbria.
* Viviane- A mysterious ancient guardian who calls and guides Sophie throughout her journey. She is based on the lady of the lake from Arthurian legends.
* Millie Chen- Sophie's Anglo-Chinese best friend and school colleague, who joins Sophie on her quest and supports her. Millie faces a conflict between her surroundings and racial background.
* Micky White- Sophie's confident, honest and outspoken workmate from the Dun Cow who joins her as a sidekick.
* Redcaps- a series of goblin looking monsters created by dark magic. The Redcaps are an overt social commentary on the problem of anti-social behaviour in England, symbolizing a cohort of angry, violent and senseless young men who terrorize the public.
* Eddie Scott- The depressed, lazy and gambling addict father of Sophie Scott who's relationship with his daughter has been broken and dysfunctional since the death of his wife. The character symbolizes the loss, grief and apathy suffered by Sunderland and its people amidst the decline of its industries.
* William Parker-Fulton/Glanfeoil- A dark wizard from the 7th century who has disguised himself as a right wing populist politician to gain ascendency in Sunderland, successfully deceiving the main characters. He is widely perceived to be a parody of Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Donald Trump, running for mayor of the North East. His widespread appeal in the story is reflective of Sunderland's contemporary political attitudes.
* Tony Radcliff- A criminal gang leader who is terrorizing Sophie's family through a large debt owed to him by Eddie Scott. Tony is based on a real life Sunderland criminal, and acts as the antagonist which moves the story's plot forwards.
* Liam Heskett- A friend of Micky White's, and a "chav" of sorts who ultimately ends up aiding the main characters
* David Simm- A corrupted, disingeneous and obstructive police chief who collaborates with the
* Gary Marchant- Sophie and Millie's highly eccentric history teacher, who adds as a conduit for the historical lore of the story.
* Katie Cook- An annoying, unethical and antagonistic journalist who creates negative press coverage for Sophie
* Joan Stoddart- The girls' pompous, unpleasant and aggressive headmistress.
* Bertha Bagshaw- A school bully who is jealous of Sophie
* Joe Goya- Sophie's elderly next door neighbour