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+.
Trouble
by Non Pratt
I must admit, from the first sentence I didn't think I was going to like this book at all. The first few pages were full of sexual references, crude language and inappropriate behaviour - all from 15-yr-old girls and boys. Do the teenagers of today really talk and behave like this? It's disgusting - and frightening. I have an 11-yr-old daughter and behaviour like that in a few years time is my worst nightmare. Then so is what happens to 15-yr-old Hannah - she becomes pregnant. And that is when the book turns a different corner and I began to enjoy it.
Even though we would never wish anything like that on such a young girl, the way it is handled in the book is with warmth, encouragement, sensitivity, understanding. Of course, there are the expected taunts and bullying from some of Hannah's classmates, and the fact that the father of the baby does not want to accept responsibility (but you will find out why), but Hannah's emotions during this period of turmoil seems very true to life. She is afraid of telling her parents, she wonders if her decision about the baby is the right one (and what a decision for a 15-yr-old to have to take). She is also about to take her exams.
Then there is Aaron - new to the school, son of one of the teachers, hanging out with a crowd he doesn't really want to be with, carrying the weight of a horrific incident from the past. He befriends Hannah and offers to do something that no other boy would do - pretend he is the father of the unborn baby. So begins a friendship which is strong enough to carry both of them through the rocky 9 months ahead. But then, being a pregnant 15-yr-old schoolgirl is never going to be easy.
Waiting for Gonzo
by Dave Cousins
Marcus Osbourne (Oz) has moved to a new town, a new house, a new school. On his first day he manages to do the worst thing possible - draw a moustache on a photo of 'Psycho Skinner' (Isobel, daughter of local pub owner and also local crook), thus setting off a cycle of events which he hadn't bargained for. Add to this a surprise event within his family (referenced in the title as 'Gonzo') courtesy of Oz's sister, Meg, and we have one rollercoaster of misunderstandings, upsets, friendships broken then repaired, and family dramas. But with enough humour added to make it a comedy drama.
Rated teen for moderate language and teen pregnancy issue.
