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A review by mat_tobin
Dead Man's Cove by Lauren St. John
4.0
I'm definitely going to read more of St. John's books, especially more of the Laura Marlin mysteries. This book would be an absolute corker of a read for LKS2 as a whole class. Even a seasoned reader could be forgiven for not seeing all the plot twists before they take place. St. John also reveals the darker elements of society (factory sweatshops from India/slavery/child labour) which I think could open up some interesting debate among the class.
I liked the opening of the story, the chapter size (just the right length for a newly-fluent reader), the characters and the setting of St. Ives which I must now visit but what holds the whole thing together is Laura who is a well-crafted and relatable character in that she is a flawed as she is adventurous. I'm all for scarred and flawed heroes and St. John has done a great job with Laura. It seems that orphaned children finding out they have flawed yet deeply interesting relations who step up to look after them is a slice of narrative planning that works well.
Written in 3rd person from behind Laura's shoulder, St. John doesn't go overboard with descriptive sentences (and she could have with it being based in St. Ives). Instead, I think she gets the balance just right between description, mystery and pace. The first half of the book goes along quite slowly as Laura adjusts to her new life and settings but when the mystery behind her uncle and new friend begin to unravel I found that I couldn't put the book down and was disappointed when it all ended with quite a sudden jolt.
I liked the opening of the story, the chapter size (just the right length for a newly-fluent reader), the characters and the setting of St. Ives which I must now visit but what holds the whole thing together is Laura who is a well-crafted and relatable character in that she is a flawed as she is adventurous. I'm all for scarred and flawed heroes and St. John has done a great job with Laura. It seems that orphaned children finding out they have flawed yet deeply interesting relations who step up to look after them is a slice of narrative planning that works well.
Written in 3rd person from behind Laura's shoulder, St. John doesn't go overboard with descriptive sentences (and she could have with it being based in St. Ives). Instead, I think she gets the balance just right between description, mystery and pace. The first half of the book goes along quite slowly as Laura adjusts to her new life and settings but when the mystery behind her uncle and new friend begin to unravel I found that I couldn't put the book down and was disappointed when it all ended with quite a sudden jolt.