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Forgive and Forget by Margaret Dickinson (view source)
Revision as of 12:45, 9 March 2011
, 12:45, 9 March 2011no edit summary
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Straight away I got the sense of this book because of its language and style. Lots of adjectives such as Polly has a '' ... fiery personality'' and ''Cold fear ran through the girl's slim body.'' This book is very easy to read, to get into as the tone is conversational. There are lines like ''The young girl's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in a horrified gasp. She clutched her throat as she uttered hoarsely, 'no, oh, no!'' This book will appeal to those readers who like a rather uncomplicated yarn but also with a good dash of romance. True escapism. Personally, the title is too slushy for me but I appreciate that it fits in nicely with the genre and also with Dickinson's style. But, I have to say, there's an awful lot of 'hearts thumping' and 'eyes blazing' - too many for me, I'm afraid.
Polly, the main character has some lovely qualities. As the oldest child and now that the family is motherless, Polly takes on that role. A mini-mother. She's only thirteen and still a child herself but uncomplainingly and with a good heart she cooks, cleans and looks after the younger children as well as her father. In short, she's a saint. The family home is modest and money is tight. Polly really has to count the pennies (the workhouse gets the odd mention to add a dash of drama and danger). What's more, the father drinks and when he's had one too many, he tends to get himself into trouble. At times, he acts like a child himself.