'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Sunday 7 February 2016

Review: Cicada Summer

Eloise’s Dad has been moving from one exciting project to the next and one girlfriend to the next ever since Eloise’s mother died. With each change, Eloise becomes quieter until she forgets how to find the words.

When her Dad takes Eloise to meet Mo, his estranged mother, he promises that this time everything will be different. Then he leaves with no promise of when he will return.

As Eloise wanders through the property Mo has signed over to her dad, strange things happen. Is she seeing ghosts? Is it possible to travel through time? Is it all in her imagination?

Eloise meets a new friend and learns to use words again in this strange other-world. Her gift of drawing blossoms as she tries to capture the things she sees in this other space. But can she find her voice to save a friend when it really counts in her own time?

Cicada Summer is a gentle, heartfelt tale that has lost none of its charm over the years. There is sadness and hope and danger: it’s one of my perennial favourites.

Title: Cicada Summer
Author: Kate Constable
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $15.99 RRP
Publication Date: 2009
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781741758283
For ages: 7+
Type: Junior Fiction