Please Don't Go

Peggy Woodford has edited a number of creditable collections of short stories and this offering in her own right is equally commendable. It is a love story, intelligently written and likely to appeal to third-, fourth- and fifth-year readers - perhaps most profitably as part of a wide-ranging GCSE study of love stories/romance. Mary Meredith tells the story of two summers spent in France on a French/English exchange during which she falls in love with Joel, son of a local family. The narrative is refreshingly direct and low key, the setting believably recreated and the turbulent feelings of a 15-year-old girl explored with sensitivity. There are some awkwardnesses - a trite deathbed scene and a powerful attraction for an older man conveniently soured by an overhead conversation. However, this is, undeniably one of the better offerings from Corgi's new 'Freeway' series for teenage readers and worth a second look.