Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781781129548 £6.99
When Dylan hits another boy at school, his best friend Asim, it is the final straw for the school and he finds himself expelled. His mother has been finding it increasingly difficult to cope with him and decides to move them back to Wales and her father’s home by the sea. Over time Dylan becomes more involved with his grandfather and with the local community; in particular he is fascinated by the migrating swans that arrive in the autumn and which are registered by his grandfather and others. When his grandad has a stroke and the birds’ nesting grounds are threatened, Dylan has to work with others in an attempt save everything he has come to love.
Once again Gill Lewis has created a magical story that combines the human and natural world. Dylan is a troubled young person who finds secondary school difficult to cope with, which then leads to issues with his behaviour. The lack of support in the school just increases the issues that he has and the school takes the final option open to them. The healing power of nature is central to the plot and the characters that he finds in Wales are much more supportive in the way that they work with him. I loved this story and will remember it every time I see birds migrating overhead. It is another wonderful tale from Barrington Stoke and is aimed at the 8+ age group, both in interest and in reading age.
Margaret Pemberton
