Joan Phipson (1912–2003)

Written in 1978, When The City Stopped, is the story of 13 year old Nicholas and his younger sister, Belinda. The kids find themselves home alone in the middle of an electricity strike. Sounds a little dull, but this is a strike with a difference as rolling strikes across Sydney virtually close the city down.
While I enjoyed this story, the idea that the government would allow a strike to cripple a city in this way, and that the population would support it, is rather implausible. In saying show more this however, Phipson has done an excellent job depicting what it would be like if all our modern conveniences of city life suddenly stopped.
This story is beautifully written, despite the occasional unusual wording. This wording was probably normal for its time but it sounds a little odd now. For example, Phipson refers to the children's mother as 'Mrs Lorimer' and to her having lost her 'identity papers'.
Many young readers will probably be turned off by these negatives, which is a shame because this really is a beautifully written story with some very likeable characters. It would probably suit a 10 to 14 year old reader who is used to reading novels in an older style. show less

The story of a group of children's adventures in remote rural NSW, Australia, is exciting and believable. The characters are crafted in an insightful way and their development throughout their adventure is realistic and rewarding to read. The descriptions of the landscape are stunning and show a good understanding of the setting. A really great read for 8 years + with plenty of tension and thrills to keep them reading.

From cover: "Listen! I know they've got them! And they know I know...they've just put sleeping pills in my coffee! You must help me stop them, Stephen!" That's what I'll tell him, thinks Margaret. Dizzy, fighting sleep, she struggles toward her only friend in the crowded plane. That couple sitting next to her--they ARE smugglers. And it's not dope or jewels...they've got beautiful, wild parrots hidden in their luggage...drugged and dying. But will Stephen believe her even now? And even if he show more does, how can two teenagers stop te desperate smugglers? show less

I found this book was quite slow to start but, after I got used to the author's style, I really enjoyed it. The book is aimed at 10-14 year olds but my ten year old daughter found it too boring to finish. I found this an interesting and enjoyable read, though not overly scary. Good for those days when you don't want anything too heavy.