Marooned in Manhattan by Sheila Agnew

Marooned in Manhattan by Sheila Agnew
Buy Marooned in Manhattan by Sheila Agnew at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Robert James
Summary: Sweet, touching story which will be appreciated by many children, particularly animal lovers.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 224	Date: March 2014
Publisher: O'Brien Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1847175588
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After her mother's death, Evie has to move to Manhattan to live with her uncle Scott, who she doesn't know too well. Initially she's convinced that she'll take him up on his offer to let her return to Ireland and move in with her godmother at the end of the summer. Between helping him out in his veterinary practice, making new friends, and getting to know the city, though, Evie starts to wonder whether she should stay in New York - but one person wants to take the decision out of her hands. Will she be able to make the choice for herself, and if so, where will she end up living?

This is a sweet and touching story with a likeable set of characters and a fun, if slightly predictable, plot. Evie and Scott’s developing family relationship as they get to know each other is lovely, and I liked the friends Evie made, while Sheila Agnew also captures the feel of New York very well. Evie herself is a captivating character, believable in her grief and very sympathetic. I thought she developed really well through the book, as well, which is always something I like to see. Animal lovers will be particularly delighted here as there are lots of pets cropping up and some really funny moments with them - I especially liked the iguana on the treadmill! The only things that slightly detracted from it for me are that Evie’s narration didn’t really convince me of her age – she seemed very young for a 12-year old – and that the villain of the piece is rather an obvious caricature.

Despite these slight reservations this is definitely worth reading and it has an intriguing ending which seems to suggest a sequel is a real possibility. If so, I'll certainly be picking it up!

For another moving story, set partly in New York, we loved Unhooking the Moon by Gregory Hughes.

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