BfK 10 – 14 Middle/Secondary continued


Eloise Williams, Firefly, 257pp, 978-1-91008081-1, £6.99 pbk


This ghost story, set on the Welsh coast, weaves itself effortlessly around a family drama. 13 year old Lark is enduring dark times. Her younger sister Snow has stopped speaking, their mother is very ill and she and her best friend Gwenni are no longer speaking because Gwenni has abandoned Lark for a boyfriend-and a not very intelligent one, either. To make matters even worse, Lark and her family are meeting her mother’s friends and their children at a caravan park for a holiday-expressly requested by Lark’s mother, who Lark believes is dying. Unfortunately, Lark’s problems are


not merely confined to this world but spill over


to the life beyond. When


she and Snow find a hidden, ruined house they both encounter the ghostly presence of a young girl who tries to draw Snow away to be her friend in her loneliness. The novel revolves around this triumverate, with Lark desperately trying to anchor her sister to the present day. Williams injects a credible slice of history around the ghost, both through Mam-gu, the girls’ maternal grandmother and the local archives. Drama and suspense


are


created beautifully but Williams also demonstrates her mastery of teenage pack mentality, dialogue and pre- occupations. When the clans initially gather on the caravan site there is hostility, grandstanding and a good deal of emotional and mental cruelty. As the story progresses and priorities change the various factions begin to work together to resolve the problem of the ghost and Snow. But it is Mam-gu who provides the key to the mystery and who gives Lark the courage to solve it. This affecting story rings true on


every level and while the ending is ultimately a happy one, it is also one freighted with intense emotion. VC


Stay A Little Longer HHHHH


Bali Rai, Barrington Stoke, 104pp, 978-1-78112-832-9, £6.99 pbk


Barrington Stoke have long been producing excellent books for young people who find reading challenging. Stay A Little Longer punches way above its 104 page weight, delivering a story which never patronises, has an


authentic teenage voice and


tackles difficult issues head on. Aman’s father’s death has hit her


hard but she and her mother Jeet are close and trying to support each other through their


grief, with the


help of Aman’s best friend Lola and Olivia, her grandmother. When Aman is bullied by two local Asian boys Gurnam, a neighbour, comes to her rescue. He quickly becomes part of the family-generous, warm, kind. However, he has problems of his


own which lead him to the brink of suicide. He is gay, but he is also a Sikh, a Sikh who has left his wife, daughters and grandchildren. Aman,


terrified of losing the man she regards as a grandfather, manages to prevent him taking his own life. The story is fast-paced and affecting,


exploring a range of sensitive and contemporary issues. Rai creates characters exceptionally well-contrasting, for example, Aman’s mother’s compassion with the hard-heartedness of all but one of Gurnam’s family. Community and family are at the heart of this thoroughly satisfying read. VC


The Whispers HHH


Greg Howard, Penguin Random House, 236pp, 9780241367087, £6.99 pbk


Riley’s mother has disappeared. Riley is the chief witness – he believes she has been kidnapped. But no one is taking him seriously, least of all Policeman Frank. It is up to him to solve the mystery and his only hope is to find The Whispers and ask for their help. The author sets up his story cleverly,


using Riley as the narrator, drawing the reader in to accept this version. However, gradually it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems – and Riley is, perhaps, not a reliable witness – though he is not lying. Rather he is suffering from childhood traumatic grief following the death of his adored mother. But Riley has more than one problem to trouble him. Here the author is to be commended for introducing a LGBTQ theme without fuss or fanfare but as a thread that will encourage his readers. Riley’s voice rings true though The Whispers may be a step too far and an unnecessary supernatural intrusion in a narrative where the central theme is that of exclusion. However,


the conclusion


though rose-tinged, is both positive and satisfying. A gentle, easy read for the reflective reader encouraging empathy and sympathy – and it is hoped a mirror for the young person who needs one. FH


The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Woods


HHHH


Samuel J Halpin, Usborne, 352 pp, 978474945660, £6.99, pbk


‘Why hasn’t mum visited Gran for so long?’ Poppy wonders, when she goes to stay in the quaintly named village of Suds after her mother’s death. And why does Gran have such strange house rules? Washing must be brought in from the line before six p.m., wet or dry; all sugar cubes must be kept under lock and key; the windows are to be closed and locked at night, with the curtains drawn; and ‘NEVER, DON’T YOU EVER, dust the window sills.’ Poppy is already an anxious child but, it slowly becomes clear, there is a lot in Suds to make her downright terrified. Why do children apparently slowly fade away? What is the old man feeding with cat meat through a door in the


30 Books for Keeps No.234 January 2019


floor of his houseboat? And what is the mystery of the mill in Riddling Woods that floats such finely crafted cloth down to the village? Debut novelist Samuel J Halpin builds up the macabre atmosphere carefully, amidst the


rather more mundane


pains and pleasures of Poppy establishing herself at a new school. A mixed pleasure is her friendship with the extraordinary Erasmus Tall. This is a boy whose desire for answers and unshakeable belief in his capacity to find them, leads both of them further and further


towards a horrifying


confrontation. Halpin has a nice turn of phrase and this is an ingenious and original story. It intrigues and grips from the very beginning; and its final solution is suitably bizarre and disturbing, relieved only by the reader’s awareness that the author has his tongue firmly in his cheek. CB


Flight HHH


Vanessa Harbour, Firefly, 250pp, 9781910080764, £6.99, pbk


Jakob took refuge in the Vienna stables where the famous Lipizzanner horses were kept in 1938, after the disappearance of both his parents on Kristallnacht, was taken in by the Director and later taken to hide in the country by Herr Engel, the groom, together with the horses, to keep them safe from the Nazis. Now the SS officer


Bauer is looking for him knowing he is Jewish, so Herr Engel decides to take the boy and the stallions to safety, after the officer has brutally killed one of them. Together with Kizzy a Roma orphan, they make the perilous journey through Nazi occupied territory to reunite the horses with the Director in his hideout the other side of the Austrian mountains. This is an exciting story, vividly told,


not sparing the reader the atrocities of the Nazis. There is a graphic account of a mass grave with the buzzing of flies, hence the 12+ age recommendation. Jakob’s sad past and his care for Kizzy who has suffered equally seeing her parents shot in front of her, enables them to comfort each other. Herr Engel’s initial distrust of the Roma girl disappears after she proves her worth, when one of the horses is injured and even more so when Herr Engel is injured. The latter part of the story is a little contrived as The Americans arrive and it is decided to give General Patton, a known lover of horses, a demonstration of the skill of both the riders and the Lipizzanneer stallions, ridden of course by Jakob and Kizzy. This rather glib ending mars the story as what comes through most of the book, is the immense danger they are in, and the courage shown by the two young people, (who are called children but are not really so). This is an exciting fictional adventure story, which lovers of horses will enjoy immensely. JF


14+ Secondary/Adult Opposite of Always HHHHH


Justin A. Reynolds, Macmillan Children’s Books, 456pp, 978-1-5098-7004-2, £7.99 pbk


This timeslip romance is full of smart, sassy, well-observed dialogue. The conversational bounce


reader. between


the four principal characters feels authentic and immediately engages the


Jack and Jillian have


always been best friends but Jack has begun to feel much more for her. He can do nothing about this, however, as she is dating Jack’s other best friend, Franny, who has both great physical strength and emotional vulnerability. His father has been in prison several times and never shows his son affection or praises him for his many achievements. Jack, Kate and Franny are inseparable and fiercely loyal and so Jack knows he must say and do nothing about his romantic feelings. Then events completely change


Jack’s feelings-he meets Kate and falls profoundly in love. The feeling rapidly becomes mutual, but there is a serious problem: Kate has sickle cell disease, which can take her life at any time. Jack is determined to save her and this propels the narrative into a Groundhog Day loop as he formulates one solution after another to the problem. Reynolds deftly juggles tension, comedy, love and friendship using effective tools-


smart, sassy, well-observed dialogue; rounded, convincing characters and, until the final se ction, credible plot construction. This is fast and furious through


stuff, threaded with strong


emotion which avoids the trap of


sentimentality. Reynolds is an


accomplished and inventive writer, which makes the rather strained final section


rather


Nevertheless, I relished reading this book and was sorry when it ended. VC


The Light Between Worlds HHHH


Laura Weymouth, Chicken House, 405pp, 9781911490036, £7.99 pbk


This YA novel opens with three children taking refuge in an air raid shelter as bombs fall on London in 1944. The youngest, Evelyn, wishes with all her heart to be ‘anywhere but here’ and the three are transported to another world where the magical Woodlands are protected by Cervus, a powerful, but benign, stag.


After


years in this magical realm, living as Woodland queens and warriors, Jamie and Philippa, the two eldest, ask to be returned to their own world, taking Evelyn, whose heart belongs to the Woodlands, with them. They return to the same place and time in London, and then need to work out how to live their lives in this world.


a disappointment.


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