Pumpkin Pie by Jean Ure
| Pumpkin Pie by Jean Ure | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Some books wear well - Pumpkin Pie was first published in 2003 but tastes just as good in 2012 and gives an entertaining and thought-provoking look at eating disorders and bulimia in particular. Recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 176 | Date: January 2012 |
| Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0007424849 | |
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There are three children in the Penny family. Petal is the eldest and she is gorgeous - long legs, long blond hair and pretty with it. Pip is the youngest and he's the one with brains and has to be surgically separated from his computer. In the middle is Pumpkin - well, her real name is Jenny, but she's Pumpkin to the family - and she's cuddly with curly hair. Mum's the breadwinner in the family, with Dad being at home during the day as house husband and working as a chef of an evening. He's got a relaxed attitude to the home and to what the kids do: his obsession is food. He loves making it - and Pumpkin loves eating it. She's conscious about her weight but it still comes as a shock when her father starts to call her Plumpkin.
Pumpkin is one special heroine. She's not beautiful. She isn't particularly clever. She's the middle kid stuck in a dysfunctional family. Her mother is far too busy to take a lot of notice of what's going on - or even to listen to what the kids have to say. Dad is in a world of his own, happy as long as he's cooking, but it's not healthy food and the food he's just about forcing Pumpkin to eat is just about the worst thing for her. Finally she decides to take matters into her own hands and lose weight, but without family support she does it in the worst possible way. It's called bulimia.
Jean Ure captures the obsessive personality perfectly. When Pumpkin saved money she was totally hooked on how quickly the money mounted up. When she decided to lose weight she was on the scales as many as a dozen times a day and devastated if there was even a slight increase. It's not an easy path - and Pumpkin isn't always the pleasantest person to know along the way - but it's an entertaining, non-preachy story about the perils of eating disorders which should give girls in the nine-plus age group a few thoughts to chew on.
It's a book to buy as well as borrow. It was first published in 2003 but it doesn't feel in the least dated nine years later. Girls are likely to read and reread the book and it's one that will pass on too. Highly recommended.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If you're looking for something to follow on from this great book then just about anything by Jean Ure will fit the bill, but we're particularly find of Skinny Melon. It's another book which was published some time ago - 1996 in this case - but which has stood the test of time.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Pumpkin Pie by Jean Ure at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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