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Jump to navigationJump to searchThe Summer of Telling Tales by Laura Summers (view source)
Revision as of 17:03, 11 March 2018
, 17:03, 11 March 2018no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox2
|title=The Summer of Telling Tales
|sort=Summer of Telling Tales, The
|pages=224
|publisher=Piccadilly Press
|date=April 20122013|amazonukaznuk=<amazonuk>1848122314</amazonuk>|amazonusaznus=1848122314|cover=<amazonus>1848122314</amazonus>
|website=
|video=
Grace and Ellie are at the seaside with their mum. They're not on a holiday, though - they've escaped from their domineering and abusive father. As the two settle into a new school and make new friends, Grace - who only ever speaks to Ellie - meets someone she can be herself around, while Ellie reinvents herself as Elle, a confident and popular girl instead of the shy and scared youngster she used to be. But can they ever be free of the shadow of her father?
I got this last week for Kindle - it's 99p at the moment as I write - and started reading it on the train today because I wanted a fun light read. (For those of you who've read the summary above and are wondering what on earth I was thinking; it's got a cover which looks much cheerier than the book is! Also, I didn't read the blurb.) Despite it being nothing at all like I was expecting, and not a book I'd have thought I was in the right mood to read, it left me absolutely stunned. It's in turns tense, fun, scary and life-affirming, and it's up there with Twerp as the very best of the year for younger teens for me.
Grace and Ellie, who narrate alternate chapters, are wonderful creations - sympathetic without ever being too good to be true - and the way they both react differently to finally escaping from their father's cruelty is beautifully portrayed. I loved seeing them find happiness in different things, but appreciated that it was never easy for them and they struggled to recover from years of living in fear. Their mother's character is just as well-handled, and as a teacher myself, I really appreciated the strong, believable portrayals of the two teachers who play the biggest part in the book. Both have their hearts in the right places but are capable of making mistakes. Oh, and the love interest for Grace is absolutely adorable, while his family are vivid.
In summary, outstanding. Highest possible recommendation.
Jacqueline Wilson seems to be the obvious recommendation here - but that doesn't make it a bad one! [[My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson|My Sister Jodie]] is a particularly good story about family.. {{amazontext|amazon=1848122314}}{{amazonUStext|amazon=1848122314}}
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[[Category:Teens]]
