The Chocolate Box Girls: Coco Caramel by Cathy Cassidy
| The Chocolate Box Girls: Coco Caramel by Cathy Cassidy | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: The fifth book in The Chocolate Box series lives up to expectation, dealing with some difficult subjects in a non-preachy way and still being a very good read. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 288 | Date: June 2013 |
| Publisher: Puffin | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0141341576 | |
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Coco is the youngest of the Tanberry sisters but very much her own person. For her, life is about animals and she loves going to the stables for riding lessons even if she does overestimate her own abilities. She was hoping that she could pick up a job there a couple of evenings a week so that she could have extra lessons, but it went instead to form-mate Lawrie Marshall and they're not each other's biggest fans. Well, they're not until the pony which Coco has set her heart on is sold to someone who doesn't seem to have the animal's best interest at the front of his mind. Coco and Lawrie unite to save Caramel and another pony which is just about to foal - but how will they cope?
It doesn't seem like nearly three years since we first heard about the Chocolate Box girls. Cherry isn't actually one of the Tanberry sisters. Her father and the Tanberry sisters' mother met after her marriage broke up and we've seen the five girls learn (or not) to live together and to become a family. The books can be read as stand alones but there is a story arc which adds to the experience if you read them in order. And - it's no hardship. The books are great for the older tween or young teen and they deal with that time when girls are growing up, being with boys other than as friends and having to appreciate adult relationships for what they are.
There's a firm grip on reality too. Relationships within a family don't always work out as you would like or expect even with the best will in the world, certainly on one side. Parents can't always be with children when they'd like to be - sometimes the realities of having to earn a living intrude. I liked too that although the sisters all agreed that they didn't tell tales about each other they did discuss whether it was right to break the rule if they thought that something was going really wrong. Some difficult subjects are touched on - bullying and domestic violence for instance but there's nothing graphic or preachy - more that it's something to think about and form your own judgement.
It's a good story too. Even at many multiples of the target age I wasn't going to put the book down until I found out what happens. Good books are good books whatever your age - and this is a good book. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
For more about relationships from Cathy Cassidy we can recommend Ginger Snaps.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Chocolate Box Girls: Coco Caramel by Cathy Cassidy 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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