DOCTOR WHO: ORIGIN STORIES

Every short story collection needs a hook, and this has one that plays perfectly to its intended audience of nine to 12-year-olds: a taster of various Who characters before we met them, with two actors roped in to tell their characters' tales.

- Rhian Drinkwater

RELEASED OUT NOW!

313 pages Hardback/ebook

Authors Various

Publisher BBC Children's Books

"Chemistry", by Sophie Aldred, shows Ace as an underachieving teen whose passion for the subject is cultivated by a mysterious supply teacher. It's an interesting look into a younger Ace's inner life and how she got so proficient with Nitro-9. "Velvet Hugs", written by Katy Manning, relates Jo Grant's journey to UNIT, and is a hug of a story that you can't help but hear in her ever-cheerful voice.

Other highlights include "The Last Of The Dals" by Temi Oh, which uses a story of the young Davros to tie together differing Dalek mythologies, and "The Big Sleep" by Dave Rudden, featuring Va'stra in her last days before hibernation.