Changes

This book, to put it bluntly, surprised me. And not only have I read everything this author has put out, but too many of this format of books than is healthy for a spreading, middle-aged, childless male. But it still surprised me. The first chunk – the extended flashback – is great, and definitely on Ms Russell's home territory, of school nasties, the joy of friendship when it's to be found, and a welter of social faux pas that only too easily come before said friends. But, just when I felt we were seeing too much of the inside of the locker, the book – and clearly the whole franchise this is defined as launching – takes a major turn. But even then the whole thing surprised me, as the ''real'' nature of the book resolved itself in the last few pages. I won't say more – I'm giving nothing away to say this was a very different beast to what I expected, but the whole switch was done in a perfectly reasonable, logical and coherent way, so that I really did appreciate the craft here.

But what would the nature of that reader be? The other series in this universe, with its pink and purple covers and spangly, glittery designs, is definitely geared towards girls. Here we get a not-quite-genderless pale blue, but I'm sure, as is the way of things, young ladies will be able to snatch this up, and read based on its own merits, in a way that lads find themselves unable to, hindered in going the other way by the colour-coding too many books bear. That means, surely, both genders would feel free to turn to this franchise and enjoy it. But that's not the only reason why I expect sales of this to be on the large side. That boils down to me having enjoyed it a lot, and it proving to be, with this author's nous shining redolently, one of the strongest launch titles for a new series for a long time. It's just right on so many levels.