Kate Thompson (1) (1956–)

J.J. Liddy, a young musician and dancer living in the small Irish village of Kinvara, finds that time is becoming scarcer and scarcer in this immensely entertaining work of children's fantasy. When his mother, who is also a musician, asks for more time for her birthday, J.J. sets out to find it, discovering that quite a bit of his world's time has been slipping into the fairy realm of Tír na nÓg, doing damage to both places. As J.J. travels into Tír na nÓg in search of lost time, meeting show more many unforgettable characters along the way, the new policeman in Kinvara, Garda Larry O’Dwyer, also seeks after something, although he can't quite recall what it is...

As someone who loves both Irish mythology and Irish 'trad' (traditional folk music), I found Kate Thompson's The New Policeman absolutely marvelous, enjoying it from beginning to end. Journey stories of this sort, in which children encounter the figures of fairy and folklore, are well established in the world of Irish children's literature - Patricia Lynch's 1934 The Turf Cutter's Donkey and Pat O'Shea's 1985 The Hounds of the Morrigan are two notable examples - but Thompson manages to do something a little bit different with her tale, in which both human and fairy-folk are on the move. The incorporation of music - I counted at least twenty-three different named tunes and songs, while reading - was also lovely, and made me wish for an accompanying CD! Recommended to anyone who enjoys myth-tinged fantasy fiction, or who has a weakness for Irish music. show less

This wasn't what I expected - this story is much more complicated than the spooky-isolated-house-in-the-countryside story I thought it would be. Instead, it's the story of a kid with a messed up life, who is clinging to the mess for all he's worth. While he wavers between choosing the better life he's being offered or running away and stealing cars to crash, his little brother is up in the middle of the night having conversations with a creepy, secret visitor. It's a murder mystery and a show more family drama combined in a very strange way. show less

This is the first book in The New Policeman trilogy. I enjoyed this book; it was a unique middle grade novel that was a blend of fantasy, time travel, faerie, and music elements. It was a quick and easy read that I found really interesting and engaging. This book is a very complete story all on its own.

The people of Kinvara can’t figure out why they are always so pressed for time. Time seems to be literally slipping away from them. When J.J’s mother asks for more time for her birthday show more J.J. is determined to oblige her. What starts as a quick jaunt to bring a neighbor some cheese quickly turns into an adventure in a different world where time is supposed to stand still.

This story takes awhile to get going. The first hundred pages or so are dedicated to learning about J.J.’s ancestors and their strange musical past. Each chapter has a short piece of music after it (which I did not go and play) about something that was discussed in the preceding chapter.

I enjoyed the writing style. This was a very engaging story, the characters were likable, and I enjoyed J.J.’s close relationship with his family. Once the story got moving I was sucked into the mystery behind the time leak and curious about the other world.

Overall this was a great story. I ended up really enjoying the plot, the characters, and the magic. I would recommend to middle grade and older readers who are interested in faerie and time travel. I am unsure whether or not I will read the next two books in the series; this book wraps up the story nicely and I don’t really need anything more to read right now. show less

Nominated for a Carnegie Medal, shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize and marketed as a novel ‘written by the winner of the Whitbread Children’s Book Award and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize’, I was in danger of writing this off as a very ‘worthy’ book. However, as soon as I began reading I was drawn in to a compelling story that had me rooting for a most unlikely hero and I read the whole slim volume (less than three hundred pages) in a mere three hours.

The opening show more chapter immediately sets up an intriguing situation. Bobby’s mother is moving her small family out of Dublin and into the country, possibly to rescue her son from the friends she feels are leading him deeper into trouble, possibly to escape from some unknown people. She claims they’re going on a summer break, but her bolshy son can see right through that: ‘we’d given up the flat for one thing, and if we wanted to get one again we’d be right back at the bottom of the housing list’. Of course, the new house has a more interesting history than their old one, if the stories are true…

It quickly becomes evident that this family could be the nightmare family to live next door to: fourteen year old Bobby has a penchant for stealing cars and torching then, then spending all his (stolen) cash on getting stoned or drunk; his ma is on the dole and puts everything on credit, with little intention of repaying any of it; and as for his brother, Dennis, well, Dennis just wets the bed and cries, but he’s young yet. It’s alright, though, because Bobby isn’t staying, and he’s told his ma that. He told her ‘when she came up with the idea and [he] told her again when she tried to bribe [him] with the new xbox’. Bobby’s confident that he’s in charge of their relationship and is only waiting for her back to be turned long enough for him to make a good getaway because she’d be an irritation to him otherwise.

Initially I found Bobby’s coldness towards his family shocking, but as the story develops and the swearing and bickering becomes less surprising it appears that Bobby might be little more than a chip off the old block – so can he really turn over a new leaf? Of course, he's not really as bad as he seems and maybe a fresh start will be the answer.

Cliches aside, it seems clear from early on (almost as soon as the writer sets up the familiar premise of new home, new town, new start) that this must be a story of how a bad boy comes good in the end. However, Bobby is determined not to enjoy his new life and it’s not long before he’s heading back to Dublin and trying to summon up his old mates Fluke, Beetle and Psycho Mike, leaving the reader with a mind full of questions. Why did Bobby’s ma move them to Dublin? Who is Bobby’s father? Can Bobby adapt to his new life? Will he be given a chance to?

As the questions pile up, we meet a cast of likeable and, perhaps more importantly, believable characters. PJ Dooley and his son Coley want to help Bobby, if he’ll let them, but Coley’s grandmother is more interested in warning Bobby’s ma to leave some milk and biscuits out for the fairies. Yes, the fairies. Don’t worry, though: this doesn’t degenerate into some mystical tale of small folk. There is a mystery and there are some who seem to believe in the fairy folk, but before long there are also rumours of an old murder and a recent unsolved disappearance. The story remains firmly rooted in reality, and although it is often a slightly sad reality, it makes for an intriguing read.

This reality is partly created by the narrator. Written in the first person, Bobby reveals what he’s seen and done in a believable voice. Snippets of his past life are integrated into the flow of the story and never slow down the pace or feel like obvious lumps of background. Indeed, the story continues past the end of the book. After a particularly surprising incident, Thompson leaves us with an epilogue that seems to show Bobby living his life several years on from the events of the main story. This life isn’t fleshed out in any real detail and leaves you pondering exactly what happened to him. Like real life, the novel’s central mysteries are never fully resolved. Often, this type of ending leaves me feeling irritated and cheated, but the ending here fits perfectly with the matter of fact style of the rest of the novel.

Finally, it is worth noting that the book is billed as ‘Not suitable for younger readers’ and I would certainly agree with this. In fact, I feel slightly uncomfortable as I anticipate discussing this with my book group – a bunch of clean cut young girls, some of whom are already reading the classics, who might not be particularly impressed by Bobby's out of his head experiences. That said, the book’s success seems to lie in its ‘slice of real life’ approach: it never patronises its audience, but it should enthral them as they follow Bobby’s rebellion and attempt to uncover exactly what did happen in that house. show less