Soundtrack

Bertagna strives hard to juggle too many ideas in this novel set in a small Scottish fishing village complete with nuclear sub base and attendant peace camp. Main character Finn feels he does not fit in to the village where he has lived his whole life; he resents his dad and tries to come to terms with his relationship with Ebbie from the peace camp. Uncle Murray drowns when his boat’s nets trap a submarine causing a media frenzy; Finn’s friendship with naval commander’s son is now under threat. Some fine writing but as with her previous book, The Spark Gap , you feel that far too much is happening and it could have done with some tighter editing. Try it with Year 9 up (13/14 year-olds), but not for a mass audience.