SECRETS AND DREAMS by Jean Ure. Reviewed by Adèle Geras

Anyone who reads my reviews regularly knows that I have no  shame when it comes to writing about books by my friends. My feeling is:  reviews  for most children's books are few and far between and anything I can do to draw people's attention to something they might enjoy, I try to do. And as I've said many times, it's not my fault that many of my chums are good writers. 

Jean Ure has written every kind of book in her time. In the last while, she's concentrated on a certain kind of story. To quote Jacqueline Wilson on the cover: "Fun, funky, feisty...and fantastic reads."

That is all true, but it's worth saying something more about Ure's books. The thing about them is: they're  well-written (not a given in books of this kind!) and even though they are decked in flowery, brightly coloured, girl-oriented covers they are never soppy, or silly and they never talk down. They are also almost always funny at least in the way they are written, if not always in their subject matter.

This story is about Zoe, whose family has won a large sum of money on the lottery. Each member of the family can choose to do something they really, really want and what Zoe wants is to go to boarding school. She has been influenced by Enid Blyton of course...and St Withburga's ( Cheeseburga of course!) is where she ends up.

The rest of the novel is about how she adjusts to being at school and how she negotiates the various friendship groups. Ure discusses how they change,  how they affect different  girls. She deals well with the day to day stuff of boarding school: the importance of nicknames, the status you get from having a boyfriend, the longing to be included, and accepted. I know from having a 12 year old granddaughter that her friends are a tremendously important aspect of her life, and I can even remember, across a distance of more than half a century, how painful and hideous any kind of exclusion can be when you're at boarding school...which I was, for eight years. 

Jean Ure's books are easy to read.  This one is in the first person. There's lots of dialogue and the characters are skilfully drawn and well differentiated.  They should not therefore be dismissed as frivolous. She deals with real issues, and in a light and interesting way. The books are nicely produced, and not very long. They are just the thing for the summer holidays, if you have young teenagers looking for a pleasant way to pass the time. Read this one and there are many others by Ure that you can go on to. I do like a writer who's got a long backlist! A very enjoyable book indeed.


Published by Harper Collins in pbk. £6.99
ISBN: 9780007553952

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DREAMS by Daniela Sacerdoti; reviewed by Gillian Philip

First, a declaration of interest: I got to know Daniela Sacerdoti (@danisacerdoti), as I have so many other good friends, on Twitter. She was kind enough to send me a copy of her adult novel WATCH OVER ME, which as an IVF veteran enthralled me while touching all kinds of chords, including umbilical ones (forgive the pun. Oh all right, don't).

So I was delighted and intrigued to hear that Daniela's next novel with Black and White Publishing was to be a YA paranormal thriller, DREAMS - the first in a trilogy about the enticingly named Sarah Midnight. Sarah, as it happens, is on Twitter too (@sarahmmidnight) - another of these wretched characters who slip the authorial leash to to dabble in social networking. (I can't imagine how any author could so ineptly lose editorial control over their own creations - right, @sethmacgregor?)

Sarah is a character who grows on you like a vine - slowly at first, with her understandable resentment at her deceased parents, who were so busy battling demons they forgot to teach her either about life, or about avoiding death. So nervous and scared and grief-stricken at the beginning of the book, she's outrageously OCD - I wish Sarah was in charge of cleaning my house - she has by the final chapter emerged from her self-imposed chrysalis a cold and violently determined butterfly. The reasons for her growth - which she has resisted for so long - I'm certainly not going to tell you. That would be Spoilers. But by the book's end, that creeping vine has wrapped itself round your throat, and you'll be as eager as I am for the sequels.

There's a host of marvellous supporting characters, from the mysterious Leaf - whose motives and loyalties remain shifting and nebulous even at the end of this book - to the mesmerising Harry, who isn't Harry at all. (Bear with me - and read the book, because I'm not going to explain myself here.)

As for the villains - well, it's always difficult to find monsters who are viler and more frightening with each paranormal book that's published. Trust me, the demons Sarah has to fight do not disappoint - you'll be anxiously watching your step the next time you walk on the soft peaty earth of a moor.

DREAMS is Waterstones' Book of the Month for May, as well as Book of the Month for the Scottish Book Trust. It's officially launched on 12th May at Waterstones Argyle Street, Glasgow - and I'll be there, looking nervously over my shoulder at the bookshelf shadows. And I really, really want a poster of that stunning cover...

DREAMS by Daniela Sacerdoti. Published by Black & White Publishing

www.gillianphilip.com
www.facebook.com/gillianphilipauthor






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