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melwilBook 86:Love Lessons by Jacqueline wilson
"I don't want you to go to school, poppet. Heaven knows, I hated it myself. But now your dad's not able to teach you we'll just have to give it a go. And maybe . . . maybe it's time you two learned to fit in more. I just want you both to be happy."
A really interesting concept. Prue and her sister Grace haven't been to school since they were tiny, instead kept at home to learn from their overbearing, strict father. When their father has a stroke they are sent to the local school, where Prue finds it very difficult to fit in. Struggling, she begins to fall in love with her cool art teacher - the only person who seems to accept her for who she is.
Prue is an interesting character. Her behaviour over her teacher is disgraceful - but understandable, considering how sheltered her life has been. She goes between loathing her father, and spending hours trying to help him learn to talk again. The art teacher, Rax is more loathesome - stringing along his young student, and then blaming it all on her when the school catches a whiff of it.
The book isn't badly written, though there's nothing really spectacular about the writing - it's standard modern British fare. It was a good read, though, and it was difficult to put the book down
A 4 out of 5
Book 87: A Tale of Two Families by Jenny Pausacker
My family looks normal on the surface, same as the Maxwells, but underneath there's all these secrets. Terry being secretly famous. Mum being a secret Women's Libber. My life's not quite as normal and boring as I thought.
This is one of the Australian 'My Story' books, and is written in the style of a diary. Jan Packard - our narrator - is a teenager in 1974, watching as change surrounds her family and the family next door. There are many issues here - but primarily the focus is on the Women's Liberation movement and the Vietnam War, with the arguments over the draft and the aftermath.
The joy of this book is how well the facts are woven into an enjoyable, interesting story. Jan is a great character, as are the people around her. The discussions and debates are well handled and several opinions get an airing.
The problem with this 'series' of books is that the quality of each book depends entirely on the author. This one is excellent. Unfortunately others aren't as good - such as the one I will review next. Maybe some of them need a stronger edit, to really make the stories interesting to young readers. Regardless, the books are popular, and it's great to see Australian history being told (though I'd love to see this story set in Brisbane rather than Melbourne under the Joh government)
A 4.5 out of 5
"I don't want you to go to school, poppet. Heaven knows, I hated it myself. But now your dad's not able to teach you we'll just have to give it a go. And maybe . . . maybe it's time you two learned to fit in more. I just want you both to be happy."
A really interesting concept. Prue and her sister Grace haven't been to school since they were tiny, instead kept at home to learn from their overbearing, strict father. When their father has a stroke they are sent to the local school, where Prue finds it very difficult to fit in. Struggling, she begins to fall in love with her cool art teacher - the only person who seems to accept her for who she is.
Prue is an interesting character. Her behaviour over her teacher is disgraceful - but understandable, considering how sheltered her life has been. She goes between loathing her father, and spending hours trying to help him learn to talk again. The art teacher, Rax is more loathesome - stringing along his young student, and then blaming it all on her when the school catches a whiff of it.
The book isn't badly written, though there's nothing really spectacular about the writing - it's standard modern British fare. It was a good read, though, and it was difficult to put the book down
A 4 out of 5
Book 87: A Tale of Two Families by Jenny Pausacker
My family looks normal on the surface, same as the Maxwells, but underneath there's all these secrets. Terry being secretly famous. Mum being a secret Women's Libber. My life's not quite as normal and boring as I thought.
This is one of the Australian 'My Story' books, and is written in the style of a diary. Jan Packard - our narrator - is a teenager in 1974, watching as change surrounds her family and the family next door. There are many issues here - but primarily the focus is on the Women's Liberation movement and the Vietnam War, with the arguments over the draft and the aftermath.
The joy of this book is how well the facts are woven into an enjoyable, interesting story. Jan is a great character, as are the people around her. The discussions and debates are well handled and several opinions get an airing.
The problem with this 'series' of books is that the quality of each book depends entirely on the author. This one is excellent. Unfortunately others aren't as good - such as the one I will review next. Maybe some of them need a stronger edit, to really make the stories interesting to young readers. Regardless, the books are popular, and it's great to see Australian history being told (though I'd love to see this story set in Brisbane rather than Melbourne under the Joh government)
A 4.5 out of 5
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on 2006-05-17 12:10 am (UTC)no subject
on 2006-05-17 02:01 am (UTC)