Secrets, Lies and My Sister Kate by Belinda Hollyer
| Secrets, Lies and My Sister Kate by Belinda Hollyer | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: When her adored big sister disappears, 12 year old Mini does everything she can to bring her back, discovering some family secrets along the way. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 192 | Date: July 2007 |
| Publisher: Orchard Books | |
| ISBN: 978-1846166907 | |
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Mini and Kate are best friends as well as sisters. They tell each other everything so Mini finds it really strange when Kate starts acting, well, kinda odd. She goes missing for hours at a time, without telling anyone where she's going, she's acting all secretive, and she's doing things that are totally out of character, like getting a tattoo. A tattoo! Mini just doesn't know what to think.
Her parents are no help, because when they're not arguing with each other they too seem to be keeping secrets, and Mini doesn't really have that many school friends she could talk to. When Kate runs away and disappears properly, Mini has no idea what to do about it, but as she tries to solve the mystery of her big sister's disappearance, she uncovers some things about her family that she never knew before, and everything changes.
This is a really nice book. Mini (not her real name) is a lovely girl, and her situation at school - she's not a popular kid, she's bright but not in a cool way, she is slightly obsessed with Geography - if anything makes her more endearing. There's lots of lovely, unusual features to the story too, from the imaginary games the sisters play, to their mother's profession as Cupcake Lady extraordinaire.
The language is reasonably straightforward without being babyish, and there's a liberal sprinkling of terminology related to Mini's favourite subjects such as volcanoes. The story flows really well with suitable build up, some suspense, and a general feeling over the first few pages that something doesn't seem quite right (and indeed it is not).
I think the book would appeal to even reluctant readers because it's not a struggle to read, is reasonably short (while still long enough for some plot development) and it has funny bits and sad bits and intriguing bits, all mixed together. It's part family saga, part detective story, and I really rather enjoyed it.
Thank you to the publishers for supplying this book.
You might also enjoy The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Secrets, Lies and My Sister Kate by Belinda Hollyer at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Secrets, Lies and My Sister Kate by Belinda Hollyer at Amazon.com.
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