Monday, February 10, 2014
Red, by Libby Gleeson: review
"Mud in her mouth, her nose and her eyes. Mud in her hair and caked on her neck and her arms. Mud filling her shoes and seeping through her clothes."
So begins a really well-told thriller for 9+ readers by acclaimed children's author Libby Gleeson, who is a member of the Order of Australia.
The girl in question has amnesia ("her mind was a big, empty space") after waking up trapped in mud following a cyclone that has killed nearly a thousand people and destroyed more than 10,000 homes in Sydney. The girl is helped by a boy called Peri (he nicknames her Red after her ginger hair) and as her memories slowly return, Red realises that the cyclone isn't the only threat to her survival.
Gleeson, who was born in 1950 in Young, a small town in New South Wales, once had a stint writing scripts for the television show Bananas in Pyjamas and we'll forgive her for that (British parents will know that the theme tune is very hard to get out of your head) because this pacy novel, which involves police corruption and government intrigue, is a really excellent, atmospheric story for younger readers. In Red, Gleeson (who lived in England for five years) has created a strong and resilient main character.
The book is out in paperback now in the UK and it's easy to see why it won the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award in Australia.
Red by Libby Gleeson (Hodder Children's, RRP £6.99) is available to order from Telegraph Books at £6.99 + £1.10 p&p. Call 0844 871 1514 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk
Source : http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568414/s/36eeba00/sc/38/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cculture0Cbooks0Cchildren0Isbookreviews0C10A6288660CRed0Eby0ELibby0EGleeson0Ereview0Bhtml/story01.htm
