View source for Wuthering Hearts by Kay Woodward

{{infobox
|title=Wuthering Hearts
|sort=Wuthering Hearts
|author=Kay Woodward
|reviewer=Robert James
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=One for younger teens and tweens, this is a pleasant enough romance with lots of allusions to the classic Wuthering Heights, but doesn't really stand out from the pack.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|paperback=1849392994
|hardback=
|audiobook=
|ebook=
|pages=224
|publisher=Andersen
|date=July 2011
|isbn=978-1849392990
|website=http://www.kaywoodward.co.uk/
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849392994</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1849392994</amazonus>
}}

Emily is studying the utterly boring Wuthering Heights in drama. Despite finding the book a real pain, she still wants to be Cathy in the school production - who wouldn't, especially with the utterly gorgeous new boy Robert as leading man? Robert, though, resembles Wuthering Heights' moody Heathcliff in more ways than just being good-looking, and Emily finds it very hard to get to know him properly, even after a development which means they're spending much more time together. Can two people find romance on the Yorkshire moors?

This is an easy and relatively enjoyable read, but I have to admit I didn't find it particularly gripping. Part of the problem was that it's written for younger readers but featuring characters in Year 10, 4 and 15 years old. Unfortunately, I thought they were acting like 11 or 12 year olds a lot of the time and the contrast between their ages and their maturity level put me off a bit. The adult characters, on the other hand - Emily's dad and her great aunt - were really nicely described and believable.

That said, there's a fair bit to like about the book as well. Woodward skilfully blends enough of the original [[Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte|Wuthering Heights]] into the story to let the reader play a fun game of spotting the reference,
although this is certainly a book that's been inspired by the earlier work rather than being anywhere near a retelling. I found the reason for Robert's surliness to be fairly easy to guess, but think it would be much more of a surprise to readers in the target age range, and the reason itself is handled well once it's revealed.

All in all this is a mild recommendation to readers of ages 9 - 13 or so, but I doubt it has enough substance to attract anyone much older than that.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion: Young teens and tweens who enjoy the drama theme here should definitely check out the Star Makers Clubs books, including [[Phoebe Finds Her Voice (Star Makers Club) by Anne-Marie Conway|Phoebe Finds Her Voice]] and [[Star Makers Club: Polly Plays Her Part by Anne-Marie Conway|Polly Plays Her Part]], by Anne-Marie Conway.

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