Book review: Anfarwol by Rebecca Roberts

We continue our reviews of books shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year award for 2026. This time we consider one of the titles in the Welsh language Children and Young People’s category.

You can vote for your favourite here. 

Onwy Gower

An enthralling, supernatural tale of friendship, zombies, and language. ‘Anfarwol’ by Rebecca Roberts is a marvelously written page-turner which follows a group of 11 year olds on a trip to a language immersion course to learn Welsh for the start of secondary school which suddenly goes awry. The title of this real page-turner reveals the extected antagonists of the novel (the undead) however, as the story progresses we see that the real danger to the group is their inability to co-operate and their individual traumas which they must overcome in order to survive together. 

All-rounder

Roberts masterfully combines this evil force with the themes of friendship to create an all-rounder. As the diverse set of characters develop a truer sense of comraderie, the danger intensifies which tests the boundaries of their friendship and keeps the readers fully engaged for the twists and turns of the fascinating novel.

Language

‘Anfarwol’ uses language as a focal point in which the troupe of children (despite being originally unfamiliar with the Welsh language) are forced to speak Welsh in order to survive, almost as an ultra-extensive immersion method. This gives way for the book to indulge in the typical, familiar Wenglish most pre-teens are guilty of using conversationally and therefore makes the book easier to understand not only for the target generation, but for new speakers of the Welsh language as well. Roberts herself is a Welsh learner who is glad of her bilingualism. As she said in an interview: I’m from a non-Welsh-speaking family and learned Welsh in school. I’m under no illusions that my Welsh isn’t perfect, but I’ve been lucky to find mentors and editors willing to talk me through the little mistakes I was making and correct me. One of the reasons I started writing was to improve, and having an extended project like a novel gave me something to focus on. Sometimes a character’s voice works equally well in English and Welsh, and I feel incredibly privileged to have the advantage of bilingualism. I get to choose which language I want to work in, depending on the story. We need to encourage more people to have the confidence to try writing in Welsh.’

Fear and danger

Although the story in Anfarwol is easily enticing for all ages, the themes of fear and danger may deem it rather unsuitable for the younger audience, making it more of a book for young adults as opposed to readers much younger than the characters.

Unknown undead

The zombie genre at first glance can seem rather inflated, but Rebecca Roberts manages to make an original story with the Undead as a backdrop for character development which makes it all the more fascinating as we are able to grow alongside the group. Their journey not only faces the unknown undead, but involves efforts to unlearn the automatic hatred for each other due to their differences. 

Diversity and unity

We see a diverse range of backgrounds, abilities, and knowledge which, combined make for an intriguing story of unity beyond appearance. From wheelchair users through people with diabetes to those in car accidents; this book displays the complex nature of love, hate, responsibility and fear without ever diluting the plot.

‘Anfarwol’ by Rebecca Roberts is published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch and is available to buy at all good bookstores.