Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781781127209 £5.99
In this easier read from Barrington Stoke, Karen McCombie has succeeded in conveying the confusion and stress Ketty suffers, from the amnesia she has following a crash in which she sustained a head injury. She was technically dead for two minutes and thirty-nine seconds, so her recovery has been slow and returning to anything like a normal life is extremely difficult. Going back to school makes her feel like an alien, with everyone staring at her. But one boy, Otis, comes to her rescue, gently guiding her through some of the more difficult aspects of her school day. But as her memory begins to return, the unexpected denouement brings the truth of the type of person she formerly was – an uncaring bully. Thanks to the accident, this has changed and she is now a normal, nice person, for which she is grateful. This could be viewed as a morality tale, and no doubt there will be a message for some readers, but that apart it is an intriguing story, well told. The book has a reading age of 8, but could be read by older, less experienced readers too.
Pam Dowson, retired primary teacher and PGCE tutor
