All Change; The Dogs; Joe's Story; The Wedding Present
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Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Jane Hissey’s Old Bear’s All-Together Painting. Jane Hissey writes about her approach to illustration in this issue's Windows into Illustration. Thanks to Hutchinson Children’s Books for their help with this July cover.
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All Change
The Dogs
Illustrated by Roy Petrie
Joe's Story
Illustrated by Nick Ward
The Wedding Present
Illustrated by Joanna Carey
These four new titles for teenagers in a reader-friendly format have occasional illustrations and are driven pretty exclusively by narrative. Sub plots do not complicate storylines and the length is very approachable. These are not quite reluctant reader material, but it is a close thing.
The Dogs is a horror story, which requires a bit of sussing out because of the substantial time shift. An orphan girl, sent to live with an aunt on Bodmin, convinces herself of the dark forces that are at work in that lonely place. Then her aunt’s friendly pair of mongrels disappear and return nine years later definitely not the sweet cherished pets that they once were. So begins the real nightmare for Alice.
Joe’s Story uses the granddad/grandson formula with the inevitable heartbreak when the old man is taken ill and eventually dies. The love between the two and their pet dog is touching but the story lacks any real excitement and might seem too gentle and flimsy for robust teen tastes.
A box of hand-made crockery is the present of the title in Adèle Geras’ unique offering. I don’t think I’ve read any other story for this age group where there are no teenagers. Jane, the main character, single, aged 30, just coming out of a relationship with a married man, discovers her happily married sister is in fact getting over a secret affair, and at the wedding of her niece is breezily swept off her feet by a younger man. It has a serious, wispy charm and should make readers feel that they are being treated maturely.
All Change is the pacey, light comedy of the four. Getting super hunk Tim as a boyfriend is uppermost in Jemma’s mind. With the not so effective help of friend Lisa, our heroine tarts herself up beyond recognition and is surprised when Tim wants to run a mile. However, the duo do get it together but are threatened with a sundering when mum and boyfriend announce a move to Norfolk ... and would you believe it, at the same time Tim reveals his university place in Norwich! Aaah!
