Our House

Chloe is ten years old, and she embarks on a writing project about her house, towards the end of the school year. She records fascinating details of her wonderful and chaotic family, including her mother’s increasing frustration and desire for a bit of ‘me time’, which threatens their happiness. Especially funny is Chloe’s younger brother William D, with his reports of misdemeanours from nursery school, and her idiosyncratic dad who always gets side-tracked from his chores. Also, the siblings’ X Factor style assessments of older brother Jacob’s girlfriends. Chloe is a sympathetic character who is good at reading people, and cares very much about keeping everyone happy. She manages to bring the family together and reminds us all what’s important – the people rather than the place. However, I did have to work hard to
get past the use of ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’ throughout, which could make this enjoyable story seem too twee for many readers.