by Elizabeth Pulford
Cassie and Rana have been friends since childhood; now, in their teens, Cassie (a fourteen year old) is learning about shifting loyalties, friendships that aren't always forever, the boy she likes Mac - will her feelings remain for him in secret or will he ask her to the school dance? Then there Cassie's connections with the sea, poetry and her research project on her ancestor - Sarah Cassandra Addison - who was she and what relevance has her ghostly presence have in Cassie's life?
This is an intriguing and readable book, it's written in first person narrative and accompanied with descriptive language that adds to the atmosphere...."I'm in the dinghy rowing over to the island, the oars dipping in and out of the water, the smell of the bush strong, my strokes clean....The oars cut through the quiet swell of the inlet. One day, after I'm dead and gone, I wonder if there will be someone like me rowing up the channel wondering what we were like." Pulford's writing spoke to me in this very enjoyable book. Ideal for year 8 upwards.
Reviewed by Fiona
2 comments:
This book sounds ideal for some of the children in my classroom due to the age level and the fact that it contains poetry.
Re: the poetry comment. The reviewer's reply. There are more references to other poems like John Masefield's "Sea Fever", "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "The Lady of Shallot" rather than Cassie using her own poetry. The poems are interwoven into the story. On page 122 Cassie does attempt to describe her feelings in a poetic way; also later on, there are fragments of old nursery rhymes that are used to emphasise what is happening.
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