BfK 10 – 14 Middle/Secondary continued Bone Talk HHHH


Candy Gourlay, David Fickling Books, 9781910989258, £10.99 hbk


What happens when two cultures meet head on? It is 1899, Bontok in the Cordilleras in the Philippines. Samkad is elated and nervous; his father has just told him he is become a man. But his journey to the Tree of Bones is not smooth; his life is turned upside


down when an American


arrives in the village. The army follows. Samkad suddenly finds himself facing terrifying new ideas ...as he says “I had not known it possible for there to be people with hair a colour other than black...” Books – stories – can take the


reader anywhere and here Candy Gourlay transports us to the other side of the world, the Philippines. This is a story that does not appear in our history books – but the parallels are clear. Gourlay introduces us to Samkad and his people still living according to the patterns that have been followed for ages. We see their beliefs,


their practices preoccupations, their through Samkad’s eyes.


Superficially they are unfamiliar, strange perhaps. But Samkad is a boy we can recognise, telling his story with an immediacy that opens a door to understanding. Pervading the novel is the sense of place. The isolation – even the tribes have little real knowledge of each other – the lush landscape, and presiding over all the Tree of Bones, the avatar guiding thoughts and ideas. Gourlay is an accomplished


novelist who looks to explore different challenges in every book, all springing from her own background. Here she boldly takes her readers into a very different world, a past that is both specific yet universal. This is a book to recommend – accessible, exciting and challenging. FH


The Boy Who Hit Play HHHHH


Chloe Daykin, ill. Richard Jones, Faber and Faber, 978 05713 26785, 336pp, £6.99, pbk


This is a quirky tale told in the presently


fashionable present


tense and in a distinctive insistent idiosyncratic voice. The voice belongs to Elvis (“not that Elvis…”) Crampton Lucas, a boy who was discovered as a baby under a newspaper on a bench at a zoo, and is now determined to find his natural parents. Luckily he has an understanding adoptive dad, George Lucas (“not that George Lucas…”), who has an eccentric friend, Lloyd, who not only turns up in unexpected places in the house (out of a suitcase, at one point) but also has enough money to fund a visit to Norway: a choice of destination suggested by the language in which the newspaper was written. So off they go on an


adventure that it is both a road trip and a mystery, steering wildly from a Hitchcockian motel visit and train journey (no knives in the shower but at least one gun on the train) to a wild car chase across an icy causeway. And, of course, they are pursued


by shadowy figures who may be the key to the mystery. Or does it lie closer to home? Are George and Lloyd telling Elvis all they know? This is tremendous inventive fun, told at a pace, with plenty of contemporary references (Elvis is a YouTuber and video creator after all), unafraid to mix the absurd and improbable with some potentially weighty questions about identity and family, truth and justice, and peppered with spicy turns of phrase and laconic observation that wouldn’t be out of place in a Raymond Chandler novel: altogether great stuff. CB


My Messed-Up Life HHH


Susin Nielsen, Andersen Press, 213pp, 9781783445523, £7.99 pbk


Humour and pathos mingle in this story of teenage Violet’s struggles to come to terms with her parents’ divorce and her father’s re-marriage. A young, glamorous step-mother and adorable twin step-sisters only add to her woes. Then, to make matters worse, Violet’s Mom has a new, and seemingly impossibly cringe worthy boyfriend


called Dudley Wiener.


Action is called for and Violet enlists her wise, loyal best friend, Phoebe, in a hilarious spying mission to check out whether Dudley is likely to prove as disastrous as his predecessors. Violet’s antics are funny but her


anger and pain at what she feels is rejection by her father are real and lead to disturbed behaviour. novel


This touchingly combines humour


and insight as Violet slowly learns to move on and to be more accepting. This novel was first published in


Canada in 2010 with the title Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom and, whilst the theme of George Clooney being the ideal marriage partner is inevitably dated now, the witty dialogue, comic set pieces and fast pace will keep 12+ fans of problem family stories engaged. SR


Lucky Break: A Comedy of Serious Errors


HHH


Rob Stevens, Andersen Press, 265pp, 978 1 78344 657 5, £6.99 pbk


There is a lot more depth and feeling to this novel than the playful title and colourful front cover suggest. It is a farce and a caper that catalogues an unfortunate series of accidents that leads the young narrator, Leon, into bags of trouble. However, it is also a sensitive and sentimental telling of a family’s efforts to cope with loss. Leon is a twin but, tragically, his


28 Books for Keeps No.231 July 2018


brother died in a car accident one year ago. His mum keeps herself busy with schemes to keep the roads safe. His dad is very, very busy at work. Only his older sister seems to have time to joke and play with Leon, but even she never talks about the brother they’ve lost. To make matters even more uncomfortable, Leon is forbidden to play any contact sports or engage in any risky activity whatsoever – which puts a serious dent in his ambition to become a pro rugby player. When a kooky and awkward boy


joins Leon’s school, it sparks a chain of events that force Leon and his family to finally confront what has happened. Arnold is weird. He does not understand sarcasm, or jokes, and takes everything literally. He is difficult company to begin with, but Leon soon finds that his incredibly blunt


and forthright manner somewhat


actually just what he needs: he can finally talk about things to someone. Arnold,


accidentally,


encourages Leon to take risks, and pretty soon they are tied up in a knot of trouble involving the amusement arcade, a missing wallet and a homeless man called Mr Cheeseman. Considering


the pressures of year 6? You really will have to read this to find the answers. This was a great


story for


young are


people who are about to undertake the first major change in their school lives. The move from primary to secondary school is a stressful time for many young people, as they move from being the most senior to being the most junior again. The author handles a variety of issues with care and hopefully the young readers will gain confidence. However the main issue that is raised by this book is that of ‘body image’. Molly has the perfect physique for a swimmer with broad shoulders, strong arms and legs, but for some of those around her this equates to being ‘overweight’ and means they stand no chance of being ‘in with the in crowd’. There is a very strong message given by the author about being positive about your looks and not trying to copy the images we see in the media. It is particularly important for young people, both boys and girls, as they are still growing and they cannot assume that their looks at 11 years old will reflect what they are when they are 18 or older.


This Leon’s mum doesn’t


usually like him to leave the house without a hi-vis jacket, she’s unlikely to react calmly to his incarceration at the local station! There are comedic moments in the


story (usually provided by Arnold’s lack of tact) and plenty of pace and excitement, but the most powerful and affecting element of Rob Stevens’ book is the way that Leon and Arnold’s frank and open friendship so poignantly counters the secretive and uncomfortable relationship that Leon endures with his parents, as they struggle to cope with their grief. Lucky break is a fun and engaging comedy, but is much more rewarding as a drama about friendship, family and honesty. SD


Splash HHHH


Charli Howard, Nosy Crow, 204pp, 9781788001700, £6.99


Molly is in year 6 at primary school and lives with her Nan and Grandad, after her mother left home several years before. She is an enthusiastic swimmer and member of the local swimming club, of


being really


with high hopes successful at her


beloved sport. Life starts to get more complex when her best friend begins to criticise her about her size, shape and lack of interest in boys. For Chloe making sure that she will fit in at secondary school has become a big thing and she thinks that Molly will make them stand out (not in a good way), so she tries to persuade Molly to stop swimming. Then to add to the


pressure Molly’s mother and


boyfriend turn up and start staying at Molly’s house. How our young heroine deals with these situations makes for an exciting and very heartfelt story. Will she succeed at her swimming gala, is her mother going to stay and will her friendship with Chloe survive


is a great story for KS2 children but it also has strong messages that apply no matter what age we are. MP


The Sand Dog HHH


Sarah Lean, Harper Collins Children Books, 260pp, 9780008165819, £6.99, pbk


This touching book is about friendship, hope and finding out about who we really are....a read to make you think. Azi is currently being looked after by his uncle who runs a restaurant as his grandfather has disappeared in mysterious


circumstances. The


restaurant is on a small Mediterranean island and in the summer months Azi spends his time promoting it at the ferry and the beach. He uses his time to try to find


out what has happened to his grandfather and whilst he is doing this he starts to uncover the mystery which is quite hard for him and his uncle. He sees some signs in the arrival of a nesting turtle and then in a sandy dog who arrives. Finding and making a friend and then finding an owner for the dog mirrors his search for his grandad. During the search Azi discovers answers to mysteries about his past and that all is not what it always seems. Sarah writes about Azi’s personal


journey in a readable way which would be a really good discussion book for Y5s upwards. I don’t want to give too much away but Azi’s past touches upon one of the humanitarian crisis of Europe and how people on the island respond to it....it’s a must read today to support teaching our children about human rights and empathy. SG


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