The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant
| The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Difficult family relationships and a cross-country chase - this is lively, funny and full of adventure! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 352 | Date: February 2023 |
| Publisher: Faber & Faber | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9780571348787 | |
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This story is another excellent adventure from the author of Voyage of the Sparrowhawk. Ravenwood is an old house, in the North of England, where Bea and Raffy have been living for most of their lives. They are part of a complex, extended family arrangement, as Bea is there with her Uncle Leo, and Raffy is there with his mum, and they are living together as a family. They have grown up swimming in the cove, roaming through the trees, completely at one with all of the nature around the house and loving every inch of the place. But now the house is under threat, as Leo is under pressure from his other two brothers to sell the property to a developer as it's becoming more and more expensive to maintain. The children find themselves worrying not only about where they're going to live, but if they'll even be together, and if Ravenwood itself will be torn down.
Whilst some of this story is about environmental issues and protecting the natural world around us, it also revolves a huge amount around complex family dynamics. I found Bea's story, in particular, difficult to read. As a mother it's hard to comprehend any situation that would involve me not wanting to live with my child! It seems impossible that Bea refuses to leave Ravenwood as a very small child, and that her dad just leaves her there with his brother. Later in the book, it becomes a little easier to accept as we learn more about what actually happened, but still it arouses a lot of different feelings as you read. No wonder, then, that Bea is hugely emotional, and doesn't respond in the best way to a new girl, Noa, arriving to live at Ravenwood for the summer. Bea's actions towards Noa aren't very likeable at this point, but the story is handled so well that you can both dislike her and yet still understand her reactions to various situations.
Bea isn't the only one dealing with family issues. The new girl on the scene, Noa, is also dealing with lots of different emotions around her own family situation, whilst Raffy too is uncovering the truth of his family for the first time. Noa's mother is a doctor and has gone abroad to help a disaster situation in another country, just for the summer. But there's also the fact that her dad no longer lives with them, and has a new partner. Noa can't bring herself to go and stay with them, as she desperately wants her dad to move back in with her mum. Meanwhile Raffy is discovering things about his extended family that he had never known, and this new knowledge is unsettling. I really enjoyed the unravelling of these different storylines, and also seeing the different ways the different children cope with what's happening.
Meanwhile, there's also a lot of adventure throughout the book, with a huge fire, the mystery of how that fire actually started, a runaway child and a train chase across Europe, and a protest to save a tree! The pace of the story is really good, and I was thoroughly caught up in what was going on, eager to find out how things would conclude. It's exciting, and funny, and you find yourself completely involved in the lives of these children, and hoping that they can both save the house, and find peace with all their different family situations.
It's a great story for girls and boys, probably in the 9-12 age range. The author writes in a really engaging way, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of her stories in the future.
You might also enjoy another adventure story from the same author Voyage of the Sparrowhawk.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant 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 The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant at Amazon.com.
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