Lydia's Tin Lid Drum - Tapa blanda

set in one of the most densely-imagined alternative universes ever . . [it's] mad, but tantalisingly different. (Independent on Sunday)

a sumptuous feast of a book . . . Neale . . . provides his readers with a wild ride (Birmingham Post)

a pleasure to read such an original book which plays with language with such dexterity! (School Librarian)

Nine-year-old Lydia lives in the land of Likrishka, ruled over by Stannic the 'Tin Man', a powerful chef who has placed the country under martial law. His plan is to rule over an obedient population and to instil his tastes into the under-tens by placing them in the care of governesses in robot-policed Detainer Zones. Sweets and other food are the most important things in this world, and the source of all power - and so they are fiercely controlled by Stannic.

Something has to be done! When Lydia manages to escape, she is recruited by a group of girls on a mission. Together, they embark on a quest through jungles, tunnels, and caves, past natural and man-made hazards, to find a number of forbidden and dangerous sweets, which eventually they will use in an audacious plan to bring down the tyrannous Stannic and his regime for ever.