Events

2014 EVENTS:
Holly Bourne, Non Pratt and James Dawson - 30th October
Becca Fitzpatrick - 15th November

Wednesday 30 April 2014

REVIEW: Rooftoppers - Katherine Rundell

Wednesday 30 April 2014
PAGES: 288
PUBLISHER: Faber Children's
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4 Stars

WINNER OF THE WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE 2014.

SUMMARY
My mother is still alive, and she is going to come for me one day. Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck which left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive, but that means still possible. You should never ignore a possible. So when the Welfare Agency writes to her guardian threatening to send Sophie to an orphanage, she takes matters into her own hands and flees to Paris to look for her mother, starting with the only clue she has - the address of the cello maker. Evading the French authorities, she meets Matteo and his network of rooftoppers - urchins who live in the sky. Together they scour the city for Sophie's mother before she is caught and sent back to London, and most importantly before she loses hope.

REVIEW
This book is beautifully written, it's feel is reminiscent of much loved classics like The Borrowers and Charlotte's Web - it just makes you smile constantly.

Sophie is a fantastic character; gutsy, tomboyish, determined and full of hope - she's never willing to "ignore a possible". That message is a constant throughout the book, and as the plot progresses you really will Sophie on to succeed in finding her mother. Mateo and the other Rooftoppers are brilliant, each person has a distinct personality and they add something to Sophie's quest. Charles was a favourite character of mine! I could picture him perfectly.

There's only one thing I was a bit disappointed about which was that I felt it ended rather abruptly. I wanted to know what became of each of the characters! I can only hope that she might do another book, as clearly there are many adventures the Rooftoppers could tell us about

- Gem.

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