reviews 14+Secondary/Adult continued The link to the Narnia books is
unmistakeable as the author poses the intriguing question of what happens to characters who return to the real world after years in a fantasy one. The narrative is split between Evelyn and Philippa, both of whom struggle in different ways. Evelyn, overcome with longing for the Woodlands, cannot cope with life in the real world, and her narrative presents a distressing and emotional portrayal of depression and self-harm. Philippa, overwhelmed with guilt for causing her sister’s despair, seeks to present a confident, flawless exterior and battles to protect Evelyn at great cost to herself. When Evelyn disappears, Philippa is forced to confront the painful truth of her sister’s mental state and to try and discover whether her sister did manage to find a way home or if she drowned herself as everyone else believes. This lyrical, enigmatic Y.A. novel exerts an emotional pull
as its
quiet build up, slow pace, strong characterisation and references to poetry and art draw the reader in to a mystical and ambiguous world. The narrative structure is complex as the story splits between Evelyn and Philippa, between the Woodland and the real world and between present and past. Evelyn’s narrative is painful in its depiction of severe depression, self-harm and possible suicide and Philippa’s in its portrayal of almost unbearable guilt. The reader must decide how much hope there is in the end as ambiguity about the truth forms part of the story.
The author
may have tried to combine too many elements in this first novel, but the premise is a captivating one and the themes of
sibling love, Little Bird Flies HHHH
Karen McCombie, Nosy Crow, 978-08576391033, 256pp, £6.99 pbk
Bridget Mackerrie is aged twelve living on a Scottish island of the 1860s. She is the second youngest of
four
children, her siblings being Ishbel, Effie and Lachlan. She has a withered arm and a deformed foot. But Bridget does not allow these impairments to hold her back. She is desperate to leave the island that is her birthplace – hence her nickname Little Bird. She wants to fly away. The question is whether she can contrive this escape? As the book opens, the Laird of the island is a kind and just man, who treats his tenants (everyone on the island) fairly and well. But when he dies, his successor and his family treat the tenants like the scum of the earth. The new Laird believes (falsely) that Bridget’s family is involved in some troublesome dealings. The father decides that they must make a secret getaway. McCombie is clearly a historical perfectionist. She
depicts the grief, loss,
guilt, healing, change and the need to find a place in the world, are explored in an intensely emotional way. SR
Fierce Fragile Hearts HHHH
Sara Barnard, Macmillan Children’s Books, 360pp, 978 1 5098 5288 8, £7.99 pbk
A companion volume to Beautiful Broken Things, this novel picks up the story two years later but can be read as a stand-alone without previous knowledge of the earlier title. Beautiful, damaged Suzanne has
moved back to Brighton to start a new life. Her best friends Caddy and Rosie are there to help her adjust to life as a working adult living in a bedsit. But when Suzanne runs out of clean clothes and it’s a rainy walk to the launderette she meets an unlikely saviour in Dilys, a retired musician who lives in the ground floor flat below and lends Suzanne her washing machine in return for tea and company. The two bond over a shared love of music and Suzanne finds it refreshing that Dilys accepts her for who she is without prejudice and admires the old lady’s will to live on her own terms. When Caddy and Rosie leave for
university Suzanne is on her own but Caddy’s boyfriend Kel has instructions to keep an eye on her as does her Aunt Sarah who lives nearby.
It isn’t
atmosphere in the most convincing way. Bridget’s character also strikes the
reader as sympathetic. Most
readers will back her efforts all the way. However for any reader with a disability, sometimes the impairments of the protagonist seem either to have inexplicably become less severe or alternatively have simply escaped the author’s attention. We see Bridget on many occasions climbing mountains and
gates without the slightest
impediment. On most occasions Bridget’s impairments are properly dealt with. But this only makes it more obvious when on other occasions they vanish into the Scotch mist. This major narrative flaw diminishes the quality of an otherwise excellent book. RB
long before disaster strikes, a burst pipe means she needs to work extra shifts in the coffee shop to earn the money to pay the plumber and then she meets Kel’s best friend Matt and an instant spark of attraction forms between then.
But Suzanne’s track
record with boys is not good… Meanwhile her manipulative family
are trying to interfere in her life and Suzanne starts to go into one of her downward spirals, as she rejects everyone around her, fighting with Caddy and telling Matt she no longer wants to see him. Then Dilys has a stroke and is moved to a care-home. Suzanne visits Dilys there and one of the nurses suggests Suzanne has all the right attributes to become a nurse or a care-worker. Slowly Suzanne picks up the pieces and makes some life- changing decisions after Dilys dies. At its heart this is book about different
types of friendships; their ups and downs and the way they change and grow or even falter at times. It is a perceptive account of a young woman beginning to take control of her life. The tone and voice are pitch perfect and the machinations of young adult minds beautifully realised. The
friendship between Suzanne
and Dilys is particularly touching and rewarding. Fans of Sara Barnard will fall upon this one. JC
Lenny’s Book of Everything HHHH
Karen Foxlee, Pushkin Children’s Book, 344pp, 9781782692386, £7.99 pbk
‘He whispered out of our lives at dawn...and never came back again’. So Peter
his family – his wife, Cynthia Spink, daughter, Lenny and the
Lenard Spink abandons infant
Davey; Davey who had been a perfect baby but is born with a rare – and terminal – form of gigantism. We follow the family over eight years through the eyes of Lenny who tells the story. It is a story that is shaped by the absence of her father and the presence of her brother – and the monthly instalments of Burrell’s Build-it-at-home Encyclopedia. She is a clear-eyed narrator and through her we meet a varied cast of characters from the eccentric Mrs Gaspar to her classmate CJ. We quickly realise how much she loves and protects her brother – while often resenting his presence; he stands out and is an embarrassment. She repeats her father’s name as a mantra for a better future but by the end has grown enough to step beyond this fantasy. At the heart of the story is Lenny – she
is the main protagonist and the narrator. However, she is no shadow. Her character comes over clearly as she expresses her opinion on life, neighbours and everything – not least the subjects that leap from the pages of the Encyclopedia, feeding her imagination and providing her with the colour she so desperately longs for. There are other characters who we meet through Lenny – her mother who often has a dark feeling in her heart, Davey who is loved by everyone and whose tragedy eventually allows Lenny freedom
to grow up. Though only seen from one perspective, nevertheless the author creates a sense that they are none of them one dimensional. Her language is rich and dense, allusive and concrete – this is an immersive text, reflective, dealing with powerful themes. Lenny may be a child but to me this is a novel written by an adult looking back at the child’s world rather than inhabiting the child; a book for the older reader and the perceptive adult. FH
The Burning HHHH
Laura Bates, Simon & Schuster, 336pp, 978-1471170201, £7.99 pbk
Anna Gwendolyn Clark is aged fifteen. After the death of her father, Anna and her mother have moved home to Scotland, partly to establish Anna beyond the reach of some serious bullying. The bullying involved Anna in some
very public humiliation. She and her mother hope that moving to Scotland, with a careful campaign of anonymity, will save Anna from further exposure and help her recover her equilibrium. In her new environment
Anna
discovers a new interest. Back in the sixteenth century there was a witch trial in the part of Scotland where Anna now lives. Anna studies the trial of the witch Maggie Morgan with the help of Glen, a historian who is also a wheelchair user. Bates makes an interesting three-way study of the varied forms of discrimination endured by Anna, the
long dead
Maggie and the scholar Glen. This book has two major claims to
merit. It combines the contemporary narrative with the period account of sixteenth century events in a skilful and seamless manner. It also depicts the scholar Glen as a mature, intelligent and fully functional adult who happens to be a wheelchair user. This is a combination of attributes far less common in YA literature than some readers might imagine and far less common than it ought to be. An otherwise for
marred this
uplifting book is reviewer
by two
defects. First, the deputy head teacher and staff of the Scottish school are unaccountably slow to recognise Anna’s difficulty and help her deal with it. In real life of course there may be reasons for such a pastoral failure. But if they exist in this fictional context Bates does not indicate what they are. There is also a problem of credibility with one plot development. As stated, Anna’s mother has erected a wall of anonymity around the move to Scotland, in order to avoid the public humiliation following Anna to her new context. This campaign demanded a substantial effort. Yet in conversation with a former friend Anna’s mother gives away enough information about their whereabouts to blow the anonymity out of the water – with a predictable result. Why on earth would a mother act so foolishly? Bates does not succeed in making this disastrous revelation ring true. It is these two defects that for this reviewer spoil an otherwise outstanding book. RB
Books for Keeps No.234 January 2019 31
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