During your teenage years you are evolving faster
than the speed of light. Each year brings about massive changes, both physical
and emotional. Life is a rollercoaster ride with intense ups and gut wrenching
downs. You only appreciate the magic of this fairground ride later on when life
is more predictable and humdrum.
On her thirteenth birthday Bluebell Jones wishes
for someone to rescue her. She is tried of being ‘boring Bluebell Jones: the shy girl with the practical ponytail who
gets her homework in on time and never breaks the rules.’ Red, her fourteen year old self complete with
boobs and dyed red hair, comes back through time and re-joins Blue, short for
Bluebell, and her family on their Welsh holiday.
The Jones family - Mum (and Peanut), Dad
and older sister Tiger - were a delight to read about. Mum and Dad are part of
a fifties band Joanie and the Whales
who are booked in to perform on Penkerry Pier Pavilion every Friday and
Saturday night. Tiger is looking for love again after a messy break up with a
girlfriend that nobody liked. Susie Day depicts the Jones’ with wit and humour
and lots of allusions to food from burnt toast to Ben and Jerry’s which I
always find satisfying in a story.
With Red’s support Blue begins to make
friends. She even finds herself flirting with the mysterious Merlin.
But there is an unsettling question at the
warm heart of this story. Why has Red come back?
‘What’s
in our future that made her wish herself back here?
There is heartbreak on the road ahead.
Susie Day has the rare talent to take us
along this bumpy road.
The twice-Lived Summer of Bluebell Jones is
published by Scholastic
ISBN 978-1-407120-84-3
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