Great Reads for Great Readers

 

 A Beautiful Family, by Jennifer Trevelyan.

 

            The long Christmas break is looming and a Wellington family is squabbling about where to get accommodation for their traditional holiday.  In previous years they have always gone somewhere remote, away from the crowds;  now (surprisingly) Mum wants to go ‘where there are people’, a complete change from her usual preference.  Dad reluctantly books a bach at her choice of venue a couple of hours up the coast;  he’s not really bothered where they go as long as he has a change of scene, which is a rest in itself.  Their two daughters are happy, too – Vanessa is fifteen and ready to experience what the world has to offer but is hampered by her 10 year-old sister, the narrator of this lovely story, a very shrewd and observant chronicler of events, but hardly experienced in life to  know the importance of what she is seeing.

            And little sister sees a great deal, especially when she chums up with Kahu, a 12 year-old Maori boy who is staying with his uncle, a local fisherman.  Firstly, they are both fascinated by the sad tale of a young girl around their own age who disappeared, believed drowned, and they spend a lot of time near a memorial her grieving mother has constructed on the beach;  they decide to pass the time when not swimming or getting sunburnt to look for clues as to the poor child’s presumed end.  Sadly, they both see a lot more than they wanted to know, and the friendship ends when little sister’s prized possession, a Sony Walkman her dad brought back for her on one of his trips goes missing and she mistakenly accuses one of Kahu’s cousins of taking it. 

            Which means that she’s now lonelier than ever, because big sister Vanessa is intent of breaking every behavioural rule in the book and, despite being grounded numerous times, sneaks expertly out their bedroom window to do who-knows-what.  And who is that creepy old guy who lives in the two-story place next door?  The little sister doesn’t like the way he looks at her – he gives her the creeps, but he wangles a dinner invite to their house just the same.  This Christmas break is starting to turn into an exercise in will-power to stay the distance.

            And Jennifer Trevelyan stays the distance too, building suspense beautifully and gradually, all thanks to her resourceful little heroine – whose name is not revealed until two thirds of the way through the story (which is why I haven’t named her – I’m no spoiler!).  Yes, they are a beautiful family, as the title says, but oh, the secrets the keep!  FIVE STARS.   

            The long Christmas break is looming and a Wellington family is squabbling about where to get accommodation for their traditional holiday.  In previous years they have always gone somewhere remote, away from the crowds;  now (surprisingly) Mum wants to go ‘where there are people’, a complete change from her usual preference.  Dad reluctantly books a bach at her choice of venue a couple of hours up the coast;  he’s not really bothered where they go as long as he has a change of scene, which is a rest in itself.  Their two daughters are happy, too – Vanessa is fifteen and ready to experience what the world has to offer but is hampered by her 10 year-old sister, the narrator of this lovely story, a very shrewd and observant chronicler of events, but hardly experienced in life to  know the importance of what she is seeing.

            And little sister sees a great deal, especially when she chums up with Kahu, a 12 year-old Maori boy who is staying with his uncle, a local fisherman.  Firstly, they are both fascinated by the sad tale of a young girl around their own age who disappeared, believed drowned, and they spend a lot of time near a memorial her grieving mother has constructed on the beach;  they decide to pass the time when not swimming or getting sunburnt to look for clues as to the poor child’s presumed end.  Sadly, they both see a lot more than they wanted to know, and the friendship ends when little sister’s prized possession, a Sony Walkman her dad brought back for her on one of his trips goes missing and she mistakenly accuses one of Kahu’s cousins of taking it. 

            Which means that she’s now lonelier than ever, because big sister Vanessa is intent of breaking every behavioural rule in the book and, despite being grounded numerous times, sneaks expertly out their bedroom window to do who-knows-what.  And who is that creepy old guy who lives in the two-story place next door?  The little sister doesn’t like the way he looks at her – he gives her the creeps, but he wangles a dinner invite to their house just the same.  This Christmas break is starting to turn into an exercise in will-power to stay the distance.

            And Jennifer Trevelyan stays the distance too, building suspense beautifully and gradually, all thanks to her resourceful little heroine – whose name is not revealed until two thirds of the way through the story (which is why I haven’t named her – I’m no spoiler!).  Yes, they are a beautiful family, as the title says, but oh, the secrets the keep!  FIVE STARS.   

            The long Christmas break is looming and a Wellington family is squabbling about where to get accommodation for their traditional holiday.  In previous years they have always gone somewhere remote, away from the crowds;  now (surprisingly) Mum wants to go ‘where there are people’, a complete change from her usual preference.  Dad reluctantly books a bach at her choice of venue a couple of hours up the coast;  he’s not really bothered where they go as long as he has a change of scene, which is a rest in itself.  Their two daughters are happy, too – Vanessa is fifteen and ready to experience what the world has to offer but is hampered by her 10 year-old sister, the narrator of this lovely story, a very shrewd and observant chronicler of events, but hardly experienced in life to  know the importance of what she is seeing.

            And little sister sees a great deal, especially when she chums up with Kahu, a 12 year-old Maori boy who is staying with his uncle, a local fisherman.  Firstly, they are both fascinated by the sad tale of a young girl around their own age who disappeared, believed drowned, and they spend a lot of time near a memorial her grieving mother has constructed on the beach;  they decide to pass the time when not swimming or getting sunburnt to look for clues as to the poor child’s presumed end.  Sadly, they both see a lot more than they wanted to know, and the friendship ends when little sister’s prized possession, a Sony Walkman her dad brought back for her on one of his trips goes missing and she mistakenly accuses one of Kahu’s cousins of taking it. 

            Which means that she’s now lonelier than ever, because big sister Vanessa is intent of breaking every behavioural rule in the book and, despite being grounded numerous times, sneaks expertly out their bedroom window to do who-knows-what.  And who is that creepy old guy who lives in the two-story place next door?  The little sister doesn’t like the way he looks at her – he gives her the creeps, but he wangles a dinner invite to their house just the same.  This Christmas break is starting to turn into an exercise in will-power to stay the distance.

            And Jennifer Trevelyan stays the distance too, building suspense beautifully and gradually, all thanks to her resourceful little heroine – whose name is not revealed until two thirds of the way through the story (which is why I haven’t named her – I’m no spoiler!).  Yes, they are a beautiful family, as the title says, but oh, the secrets the keep!  FIVE STARS.