Thursday's Child

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Thursday’s Child – Noel Streatfeild

Sequel: Far to Go – Noel Streatfeild

 Whoever she was, Margaret made herself the arch enemy of the cruel matron.  Soon things reached such a dreadful date that she decided to run away from St. Luke’s, but not without Peter and Horatio, and her three of everything.  So the children fled in the night to become the unlikeliest leggers ever seen on a canal boat.  And Margaret proved that she was a person of the very best quality.

 

I was introduced to this book back in grade five when my class teacher decided our class would read this book as our first novel study of the year.  I fell in love with Thursday’s Child and ever since then it has remained one of my all time favourite books.  Margaret isn’t the most likeable character but I like characters like that.  She’s headstrong but not in a naughty way like Enid Blyton characters tend to be.  This book is not for everybody, as I recall I was probably the only person who enjoyed this book and actually enjoyed doing the worksheets and assignment that followed.  A lot of my classmates had trouble following the story but I still believe that it’s a great book for the nine to twelve age group.

A Season of Transformation



A Season of Transformation – Jayne Fordham

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It is the story of five young people drawn together to complete a Quest, to protect their town from destruction.  In order to defeat the villain, Maxvale, the five virtual strangers must come together and not only forge a bond of trust but become proficient with the ‘abilities’ temporarily bestowed upon them.  In the midst of the lead up to the battle each of the young people has their own personal struggles they are trying to deal with.  Lucas, an adopted and bitter teenager struggles to become the person he wants to be whilst developing feelings for Makenna, a rich kid who doesn’t like his attitude.  Bonnie is a gothic that is dealing with an alcoholic father, Ben the school nerd and Adam the class clown are trying to break free from their high school stereotypes.  Can these five teens put their differences aside to defeat Maxvale and save their town?

I was going to begin this post by talking about how I do not read these types of books, YA fantasy/Romance, but that’s a lie.  I don’t like them that much but I do read them so I have something to judge future YA fantasy/romance books that I do have an interest in, by.   I got this in a goodreads giveaway which is how I got my hands on a book that is not available in the library. 

I am on the fence about this book; I like reality.  I like fantasy to have a sense of reality about it and I can accept it that way.  That’s why I do like this book, because the fantasy element does have a sense of reality and so do the characters.  The five teenagers develop special abilities to equip them in fighting for their town, Catherine Vale.  They develop these when they need to form a bond ad work together. I like that, in most other books the teenagers are often misunderstood teens who are outcasts because they are considered “freaks” and have had their abilities since early childhood. 

 

The book is well written for its genre and it was captivating enough for me to complete in one sitting.  It’s not a very long book at 229 pages, and doesn’t require a lot of concentration. It flows nice and easy for the reader to understand and keep up with the story.  It would interest anyone who enjoys YA fantasy and YA romance.