The House of Serendipity, Sequins and Secrets by Lucy Ivison, illustrated by Catharine Collingridge

 

Class barriers are dropped as two young girls plot to help an older sibling and her friend wow the rest of the world. 

Myrtle and Sylvie become a team. First of all they design and make a superb dress for Sylvie’s sister Delphine.  Then they become involved with Agapantha Portland-Prince who wants to wear trousers for her coming-out ball and also wants to disguise herself as a man so that she can go on an exotic adventure.

It almost all works but a misunderstanding almost spells disaster.

Lucy Ivison tells a good story and Catharine Collingridge charms us with her exqusitie fashion drawings in The House of Serendipity, Sequins and Secrets

Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll

Emma Carroll is a graduate from the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. I personally champion the MA in Writing for Children at Winchester. But then I would do. That's where I got my MA. I have to admit though in Carroll's case they're on to a winner.

She has a diverse portfolio of novels and I'll now try to read some more of them. 

Letters from the Lighthouse is set in World War II. It touches also on the Holocaust. One of the main characters, Esther Jenkins, has come to England on the Kindertransport.

A little unusually for this age group – I would describe this as a fluent reader book, though it may cross over from late Key Stage 2 to early Key Stage 3 – it uses a first person narrative. However this gives Olive an authentic voice and shows us what it was like for a child in that era. 

There is also a very good story, woven together via a carefully crafted plot. Not only is this story exciting and our attention is held but it explores the themes of prejudice and friendship in a sensitive way.  

A lovely read. 

No wonder it was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.            

      

After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross

This book is certainly well written. One would expect nothing less of Gillian Cross. It is also high concept, dystopian and presents a disturbing near future. Unusually it is not young adult though protagonist Matt does a lot of growing up. I’d describe it as fluent reader though Matt is probably about fourteen. Well, youngsters like to read up. It impressed me because above all it scared me. 

The crash of the five major banks causes food shortages, hoarding of food and raids at gunpoint on the homes of those who hoard or who grow their own food. Matt and his family are hoarders and grow their own food. Matt, his younger brother, Taco, and his stepfather, Justin, escape to France where they are accommodated in a huge refugee camp. Life is harsh there. Cross successfully uses fiction to explore the truth of that situation. 

There is a hopeful ending though we still see no easy way out of a dire situation. The story makes one pause and look at what is happening in our own world. It actually isn’t all that different.

A must read for everyone. Well-crafted characterisation, a fast pace and a good amount of tension keep us reading.   
                        

Sky Hawk by Gill Lewis

I read this book in less than a day whilst on holiday staying in Aviemore in the north of Scotland. Part of its appeal, of course, was that it is set reasonably locally and because we too became fascinated by the breeding pair of ospreys at the nearby RSPB centre.