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Jump to navigationJump to searchSketcher by Roland Watson-Grant (view source)
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|date=May 2013
|isbn=978-1846882425
|cover=1846882427
|aznuk=1846882427
Roland is a writer who really understands people and converts the soul of his characters into words that make us want to engage emotionally. Skid is unforgettable; cheeky, no goody-goody and as much a normal lad as he can be in a family where everyone is trying to hold on while fraying around the edges. The supporting cast also seems to take our memories hostage beyond the last page. As an example I offer you Squash and Broadway. (This is a place where everyone's childhood nicknames stick harder than anything written on a birth certificate.) These two may be bullies and Skid's childhood nemeses but slowly the author enables us to understand why. Although we may not condone their behaviour, it's fully comprehensible to the extent that we feel they need a hug. (Or is that just me?)
As we read we fall into the enjoyable rhythm of Skid's narrative and assume that this story will amble along just showing us every-day life and the fight of hope against experience… or at least I did. How wrong I was! Yes we learn about Skid's early adolescence, his life at school, his first love and struggle for survival as the youngest child but there's so much more. Suddenly we're hit mid-amble by a game changer as this gently wise fictional biography develops drama, twists and some well executed nasty shocks turning a good read into a face appendage that’s not being taken away from the nose till it's finished. This is the sort novel that even more experienced authors dream of writing at any time, let alone for a debut. We also have a review of Watson-Grant's [[Skid by Roland Watson-Grant|Skid]].
If you've enjoyed this, then we also heartily recommend [[The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis]].
