Shock! Horror! I went into Waterstones and didn't buy anything! Well, technically speaking anyway. I saw a book, and then went online and found it cheaper at a large online retailer who I won't name but shares its name with a rainforest. And because I'm the world's largest cheapskate, you can guess where I went. But I read it and let's just say I found it charming.
Willow Chance is a 12 year old genius. She comes home one day with her counselor, Dell Duke, to find that her mother and father have been killed in a car accident. She is then taken into the care of the fostering system of the state, which surprisingly she knows nothing about, and is then forced to question her ideals of what a family really is.
I find it hard to write this review of this book as I don't really have a lot to say about the book. I do have comments on it, as I always do with most books, so I will share.
I want to say this: I liked the fact that we had a female genius. Too often, we're faced with male geniuses. The key example to me would be the popular comedy The Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon is the genius in the story and yet he is a male. But in this, Willow is a girl. This is a step in the right direction for me.
There is a certain amount of beauty that I think is evident in this novel. The point in the story is that Willow finds out what family really is. Willow doesn't seem like a person that really knows what family or love is, and when she discovers it in the story, it really opens up that locked up beauty. Fans of Sheldon and The Big Bang Theory will probably enjoy this story, as I did.
I'm not quite sure what the cover gives away about the book. Granted, I do like the title, 'If you're lost, you might want to swim against the tide,' but I'm not entirely sure where that comes into the story itself. Has it got something to do with the back story you get in the first 70 pages? Or to do with something else? I'm not sure.
The storyline, however, was crafted nicely and it was a charming tale to read. It's not the most exciting book to read, but I liked it and I will probably keep up with whatever Holly has to offer next.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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