by Sarah Ann Juckes.
An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.
Before we get going, we have a quick news update from here in Upper Much-Mousing.
Sid Sparks, the village electrician, was rushed to the East Lambtonshire hospital on Thursday, having inadvertently got his wires crossed at the village telephone exchange. Doctors are keeping him over night, and say he'll be discharged in the morning. Until then, he is powering the coffee maker and staff microwave. Mrs Beedle, the telephonist at the exchange, suffered second-degree burns to her ears and will be off work for a fortnight, leaving at least two villages short of gossip.
Industrial disputes have reached the village. The local scout troop's upcoming Bob-A-Job week 'Big Spring Tidy' (named after the number of old mattresses and sofas retrieved from the roadsides) has been put on hold due to the cost of living strike.
Negotiations broke up earlier this week when the scoutmaster, the Reverend Pews, put a cap of 50 pence per task, a plate of rich tea biscuits, and squash on the table. The scouts had demanded a fee of £5 a job, hot chocolate, and those crunchy double-chocolate biscuits wrapped in gold foil. All are to be served on a tablecloth. Arbitrators from the Girl Guides are expected to propose a middle-ground offer of £1 a job, or £5 an acre for the extensive gardens, herb tea and a selection box of Tea Time biscuits.
And Finally, in other news, I can confirm reports that Mrs H was seen sporting bed hair in the middle of the day. Having attempted, unsuccessfully, to determine why the hot water heater wasn't working, she too electrocuted herself. No actual bodily harm was done, and Mrs Trimble, the mobile hairdresser, said the smell would pass and singeing has left no lasting damage.
Mrs H has just coughed politely and indicated I need to stop waffling and get on with the review.
This week we have a great book that has a strong and important message. It is fun, too, as the best Middle-grade books should be. So without further ado, or interruptions, here is our book of the week . . .
AUTHOR: Sarah Ann Juckes
Cover art by: Sharon King-Chai
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication date. Paperback: OUT NOW!
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-3985-1092-0
Cover price for Paperback £7.99
Pages: 260
Age range: 9 and upwards
Any creatures? Yes, and not exactly. The relevance of that you'll find out!
SPOILER ALERT
Some as to plot direction and characters.
Thank you to...
I have Mrs H to thank for buying this for me.
As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given by pals, or received in exchange for an impartial review.
The books we review are those we like and feel our readers deserve to know about and that we hope they will enjoy.
The plot
Year 5 student Nora Frost lives with her mum, Miri. Suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Miri's life whilst off work is a series of good and bad days. Sadly they are mostly bad. Recovery, the doctors say, takes time. With Nora taking on a caring role, they get by. They are Fine. They DONT need any help and will get through it together, Miri says. And that is what 9-year-old Nora persuades herself and strives to achieve daily.
Life is a series of notes on the front door for Nora when she comes home from school. If there is a note, it means she'll have to go elsewhere, stay with friends, or cook for herself. If there is life in the house, singing at breakfast, it means it's a good day. Nora craves those days as she and her mum get to do things together and go places. Though, there is the risk that crowds of people and noisy people will cause a relapse and send Miri into the deepest darkest of places.
When one dark night, Nora awakes to a fox sitting on her, "the paws on my chest like two solid nothings", things change. Not least because this is not a majestic creature of the woods that has somehow found its way into her bedroom, but a ghost fox. Equally as beautiful, with shimmering colour edges, the fox stays only briefly, not answering any of the questions Nora asks.
Awaking to a 'good' day, Nora tells her mum, who dismisses the fox as a dream. Of course, Nora knows better. Nora spots the fox at school going behind a tree on the grounds. Come break time, she searches for the fox but falls foul of Joel, the year bully. In the ensuing playground confusion, Nora escapes and heads to the tree. Whilst not finding the fox, she finds Kwame, another year 5 student hiding from Joel.
Nora isn't in the mood for friends, or help, even if Kwame says they are the same and being bullied. But through circumstance (and Kwame's dogged persistence), they are drawn together, and a tentative friendship forms. It turns out Kwame frequently visits his granddad, who lives opposite Nora, to escape the bedlam in his own house caused by his four brothers.
As the story progresses, Nora is visited by other ghost creatures, invisible to anyone else, each seemingly steering her towards something, somewhere. With Kwame in tow, the adventure grows, with a series of incidents that sometimes include Joel. But there are also very real and earthly dangers they face.
Through all this, Nora battles to understand and keep a lid on her life and mum's problem. Which eventually, inevitably, spills out at school. Kwame also faces a family crisis of his own.
As this story is about the journey, I would be remiss in giving more of the plot away. Suffice it to say, it picks up pace and excitement and culminates with a surprising revelation and some very real, exotic, and not-so-exotic creatures. I loved the ending, and I think you will too.
So, what did we think?
We really enjoyed watching how elegantly and persuasively the author allowed things to unravel for Nora whilst at the same time showing the dawning realisation that something had to change. For us, this story's central theme is coping and the importance of asking for help. PTSD is a genuine disorder and very debilitating. Its effects on those around the sufferer are oft' overlooked.
Whilst this is a pretty sad story for its portrayal of illness and the truth of what families go through, it is also very uplifting. The characters surrounding Nora, both adult and child, demonstrate ably what Nora and her mother need but reject out of misgivings and pride.
We know from experience it is not the case that there are so many people that can be bothered or willing to offer help for various situations outside of their comfort zone, especially if it is outwardly rejected. That isn't to say people should just dive in and make matters worse. There are ways to help. In this story, Miri and Nora had both been to the doctors, but Miri had tried to tame the beast within herself and in so doing isolated Nora with her.
The real message in this book, for those in need and those with the time, resilience and patience to be there to help, is very real and relevant. The story becomes a meeting of ways. Of talking, and of acceptance on all sides and to varying degrees. Which all goes to make this book work on every level, and age.
The writer's style is pleasingly different, elegant and rewarding in its description. Not surprising when you realise Sarah is a writing tutor and mentor and works for Oxford University. She has also been long and short-listed for a few literary writing awards and nominated for the Carnegie Medal Award.
Writing also for YA, Sarah's second book, The World Between Us, published in 2021, has already gone global with multiple translations.
Sarah lives with her own (real) cat, and partner, in the English Cotswolds.
So . . . .
Crunch time.
Such an important and warming story as this should be on every school librarian's and teacher's reading list. Like other books that deal with subjects that some have described as either 'not relevant' or 'awkward', like family death and grief, I recommend this for all parents and children.
For a middle-grade book that deals with death and grief, Sadé and Her Shadow Beasts by Rachel Faturoti is a beautiful book that looks at Sade's method of dealing with her mother's death. It is a book we have read and were impressed with.
Want to buy a copy?
Please sail down to your local independent bookshop to get a copy. Ghostly beasts are optional, though I'm sure they would be allowed in. There are plenty of wonderful independents out there. Each shop waits to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.
Sarah Ann Juckes' web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.sarahannjuckes.com/
Simon and Schuster's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/
Sharon King-Chai's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.sharonkingchai.com/
I shall leave you with a selfie 🙂 We are joining the Sunday Selfies . . .
. . . hosted by Janet Blue from the Cat on My Head blog.
Till laters!
ERin
