Violet Ink by Rebecca Westcott

Violet Ink
by Rebecca Westcott

This is Rebecca's second novel - the first was the very moving Dandelion Clocks which dealt with a girl's struggle to cope with her mother's illness.

This book is not so melancholic, and I loved it more for that reason. I rushed through it chapter after chapter, unable to put it down, and as soon as I finished it, I thrust it into the hands of my 11 yr-old daughter gushing 'Read this one next!' 

Izzy is such a wonderful character, and she has this fantastic obsession with a mood ring she wears which her older sister Alex bought her. It changes colour according to how Izzy is feeling and what is going on around her. I must look into whether they actually exist because I'd LOVE one! I loved the way that the chapter headings linked to colours to fit in with the mood ring. The colour theme also continues with Alex loving to write letters in violet ink. Izzy has a perfect relationship with Alex. Izzy is the quiet one and Alex is the extrovert, they talk openly about everything and hardly ever argue. Things change though when Alex starts going out with Charley. Alex starts to turn into a different person, she snaps at Izzy and hardly ever wants to talk to her or her mum. Then she runs away to Switzerland with Charley, taking a secret with her. Izzy is desperate for the old Alex to return - in more ways than one - but will life ever return to normal if she does?

A moving story of sisterhood, with emotions changing from love to hate to jealousy and then full circle again. Izzy is having to grow up fast learning the ways of the world quicker than she would have liked.

Suitable for 11+.

Dandelion Clocks by Rebecca Westcott

Dandelion Clocks
by Rebecca Westcott

Olivia and her autistic brother, Isaac, live with their mum and dad. They live a normal life. Olivia has her best friend Alice, and a boy at school she fancies, Ben. She loves photography and likes to capture everyday moments. Suddenly though they are not a normal family, and there are no normal everyday moments. Her mum falls seriously ill, and even though the word is not mentioned in the book, we deduce it is cancer. Olivia struggles to come to terms with the illness, and the fact that soon her mother will no longer be around. It is not made easier with Isaac and his inability to understand emotions in other people and himself. How will Olivia turn denial into acceptance?

This is a very moving book, but it would be good to recommend to young ones in a similar situation, or suffering from a recent bereavement and finding it hard to understand the turmoil of emotions they are going through.

Suitable for around age 10/11.