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Opal Moonbaby by Maudie Smith (view source)
Revision as of 12:57, 19 November 2011
, 12:57, 19 November 2011no edit summary
Yes an alien. Opal Moonbaby arrived in an egg-shaped craft and caused the local milk float to crash. Since then she's been living wild with Garnet, her mingle and is on earth to complete her planet's independence award. She's mastered the English language quickly, if somewhat idiosyncratically and has a few other rather disturbing traits. If Martha thinks of something then Opal will answer her. There's just one snag in all this: for her independence award Opal has to make a friend - and Martha has been chosen as the 'target'. Of course, that's not going to happen, is it?
Now - I want you to remember the name of Opal Moonbaby - she's a brilliant comic creation. Her mis-use of the English language had tears running down my face on at least one occasion - ''with friends like these you don't need anemones'' is brilliant. NowAnother thing, I don't like fantasy - I have difficulty in suspending disbelief - and the current craze for the paranormal, the werewolf and the alien has left me completely cold. I do make exceptions, though and Opal Moonbaby is a great creation for the seven-plus age group. Opal sparkles and she's totally original. I loved her.
And Maudie Smith gives us a great story too. She's pitch-perfect on the way that girls in this age group act. I was talking to someone recently who said that she would hate to go back to her teens because of the angst and the exams. I wouldn't want to go back to the tweens because of the friendships which could dissolve in an instant and the casual cruelty handed out to people who were your friends only a short while ago. The females in the book are stronger than the males (who're just a little shadowy) but there are some great personalities across all age ranges. Definitely recommended - and a writer to look out for in the future.