A Room Full of Chocolate

Grace suddenly finds that life is no longer as safe as she has always thought.  Her father spends a lot of time away and then her mother announces that she has to go into hospital to have treatment for a lump; all of which means that Grace is sent to stay with her very grumpy Grandfather in Yorkshire.  Luckily she makes friends with Megan, the daughter of her mother’s best friend, but this does not help her at school where she soon finds herself a victim of bullying.  How she copes with all these changes and the worry about her mother form the basis of the story.

This is a lovely story told in the first person by Grace, who has just had her tenth birthday.  There is a real sense of her as an individual: she has that special confidence of young people, convinced they are grown up, but, to adults,  clearly needing so much support .  The major issues are dealt with well, especially the bullying and the question of how much children should be told about illness or other family problems.  The plot is well thought out and will keep the audience interested.  The book would also be very useful in the school environment as a focus for discussion.