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|title=It's a 50/50 Thing

|author=Chris Higgins

|genre=Teens

|summary=Kally sees a side of Jem that no one else sees, and is happy to spend time with him when no one else will, but is there a reason he is so feared by the rest of her class, and is she letting herself in for more than she can handle?

|buy=Yes

|borrow=Yes

|pages=256

|publisher=Hodder Children's Books

|isbn=978-0340950685

}}

Kally is not at all excited about relocating to the country, moving into a tiny new house or starting at a new school, but the worst of it has to be that her Dad's not coming with them, and sometimes that's all she can think about. She won't tell you where he is, mind, but you quickly know that whatever the reason he's not with her, her Mum, and her little sister Izzy, it's nothing as nice or as understandable as working abroad (the lie they adopt to keep things simple in the new town).

Though it might not hit you until afterwards, this book has quite a powerful message in it about dangerous obsessions and emotional control. Kally is a strong, smart girl, but doesn't see what's going on until it's too late and she's already in too deep. There are so many strands to this book that are beautifully interwoven - what's the deal with Kally's father? Will her Mum pull through? Why are Megan and her Dad so anti-Jem? Why is he so anti-everyonelse? What happened to Miss Baker? Just as you start to work something else, another thread comes loose, sending you off in a different direction. The ending is unexpected and exciting / alarming (depending on whether you're Kally or her mother) but you do get that satisfied feeling that goodness prevailed in the end. The whole story is exciting and engaging and it's a hard one to put down when you've started.

You can find out more about her other books at the author's [http://www.chrishigginsthatsme.com/ website]. Thank you to the publishers for supplying this book.

{{amazontext|amazon=0340950684}}

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