Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Brave New Girl by Catherine Johnson (Children's, 10 years+)


3rd November 2011, Frances Lincoln
192 pages, Paperback
Review copy 

Children's, 10 years +

Themes: school drama, family relationships, friends drifting apart, find your place in the world, meaning well but incidents then  happen, coping with change in status, sibling rivalry, life with step/half siblings, putting your foot in it, life lessons, mild romance, a fair amount of laughs, a tissue or two is needed

Summary from Frances Lincoln
"I can make things happen - good things - I know it!" 

Seren is so full of brilliant ideas - it's just that she always seems to put her foot in it! First there was the dance routine where she fell off the stage. And now her plan to get her sister Sasha noticed by gorgeous Luke Beckford looks like it could backfire. Seren reckons she's just hopelessly accident-prone! 

But there's one person who believes in Seren. Her mate Keith is making a film for a national competition and he wants Seren to be in it. Could Seren turn out to be a star after all? 

Nayuleska's thoughts
Seren may have an unusual name (very pretty one), but there is nothing unusual in her life. What she goes through is something everyone can relate to. Having her sister blank her all the time really hurts, even more so when the rest of her own family either don't notice, or say things which seem to confirm her sister's thoughts. Seren has to muddle through on her own, and it's only when something very public happens that she gets the support she needs. 

This hilarious, touching read gets 8/10. 

Suggested read
For more school drama, try Wuthering Hearts by Kay Woodward


3 comments:

Luisa at Chicklish said...

I really enjoyed this book too! My review should be up soon. Thanks for yours - I loved reading it!

Nayuleska said...

Yay! Glad you like it - I'll try to keep an eye out for your review to see what you thought. This is my new quicker style review :)

Anonymous said...

Fantastic book! I must say I love it cos when I was reading to my daughter she was paying me attention instead of running or screaming around the house (something that she normally does). cialis online