Judy Waite

This is on my shelf at school as a novel set & the back blurb sounded interesting. Unfortunately, it fell very short of my expectations. There was a lot of potential for suspense and character development, but all 3 main characters were rather one-dimensional. As a previous reader stated, it had a very dated feel - so much that I checked the copyright date more than once. Possibly an earlier manuscript that did not get submitted until decades after it was written? It is a short book that has show more little to recommend it. I would pass it up & reach for something else with more meat to it. show less

True Cause is the true cause. Lucky, so lucky. I love you. These are the phrases that fifteen-year-old Elinor has grown up with on the farm where she and her fellow Followers, led by the amazing Howard, live. It is a simple, material-less lifestyle, but Elinor is one of the Chosen, a special group of young girls who will go on to a very important role in her community, as one of Howard’s many brides. Importance is focused on the soul and not the outer body, and Elinor should be happy, so show more happy.

However, she is not. As Elinor sees more and more of the odd things that happen on the farm—such as when Meryl, a fellow Chosen, was tied to a tree to be whipped and then disappeared from them forever without notice, or when Howard pretends to drown a woman’s baby as a warning—she struggles against everything she’s grown up with.

This conflict between her community’s teachings and her inner voice grows stronger when she meets Jamie, a familiar-looking outsider boy who makes her stomach do flips in ways she just knows is dangerous. She cannot stay away from him, however, even though the only one who can ultimately save herself from the increasingly dangerous world she lives in is herself.

FORBIDDEN takes an interesting concept and spins it into a thrilling story. It’s sort of a psychological thriller in an eerie alternate world, dashed through with a bit of romance. A good read for dull moments. show less

I thought this was a pretty good book. I'm glad I read it though. I think in audio format, the chanting would have gotten on my nerves....

Elsa tells herself that it was just a little white lie - all to get her mum's boyfriend off her back when she was late home. But now Amy, a girl from school, has gone missing and a man who may be innocent has been arrested. Can Elsa get herself out of this mess? And who really abducted Amy? Gripping thriller. From BarringtonStoke.co.uk

This is the story of how telling lies can get out of hand. Elsa lies to her Mum’s boyfriend and gives the excuse of almost being kidnapped on the way home to show more explain why she’s late. But then someone she knows is kidnapped, and the police want her evidence to help catch the “kidnapper”.

Barrington Stoke are a publishing house that publish books for reluctant and struggling readers. Twisting the Truth is a short story of 75 pages for 14+ readers with a reading age of 8, but this doesn’t mean the story is dumbed down at all. I am neither a reluctant nor struggling reader, and I really enjoyed it! It’s a quick burst of thrills and fear on such a serious subject. Elsa is a very identifiable character for young teenagers, and although she makes some mistakes, I was completely swept up in her story. What is Elsa going to do? Who has kidnapped Amy? What’s going to happen? It was nothing if not exciting and disturbing.

I don’t know any struggling readers, but I do know reluctant readers, and I think this is the perfect story for them. You’re not bogged down with excessive description, dialogue, or long, difficult words, the focus is completely on the kidnapping. It’s also a story I think reluctant readers would get swept up in, in the same way that people shout at the television when watching a movie and the main character does something stupid. Barrington Stoke publish their books in their own font, and the books are written with short sentences and short, spaced out paragraphs, which make the pages fly by; there’s no time for a reluctant reader to get bored, because it’s quick, sharp, and focussed. For struggling readers, the short sentences and paragraphs would make just one more paragraph not seem too difficult, especially as there are no long or difficult words.

Reading for myself, I would have liked the book to have been a little longer, just to find out what happens after the last page, but for the target audience, I think it ends at just the right moment; the story has been resolved, we know what was going on without the story getting too disturbing. A really good book to get those who struggle to read and those who aren’t too keen on reading turning the pages.

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog show less