After finishing my Year 6 SATs I decided to spend my first Saturday reading this book – it was so good I could not put it down until I'd finished it.
The plot is a bit unusual as it's based around the game of bridge. The main protagonist – Alton Richards – is a teenage boy called whose mum makes him be a 'cardturner' for a rich great-uncle who can no longer see the cards clearly when he plays bridge. His mum's motivation for this is to try to inherit some of the old man's money when he dies.
At first Alton finds the task very tedious, but he then learns how to play bridge and gets interested in the game, practicing at home and learning how to win. Uncle Lester begins to develop a good relationship with Alton and as they talk about their family history Alton begins to uncover pieces of a story about the family's past. People at the bridge club and bridge tournaments fill in lots of missing details, but I don't want to give away any of the plot.
Louis Sachar has cleverly woven a story from the past into the present day story, which culminates in the final chapters of the book's brilliantly written ending. Before I picked up this book I would not have believed that so much drama could be based around a card game. All the characters in the story are very believable and the story from the past is quite shocking because of the cruelty involved.
I would highly recommend this fascinating book to anyone who loves Holes by the same author, and anyone who enjoys a story with a complex plot.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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