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Friday 19 April 2024

Review: A Room for Ryel

Ryel and his dad officially become a blended family when they move into Lonnie’s house. 

Luckily, her twins Harry and Darcy, are already close friends with Ryel as they go to school together.

Sharing a room has many challenges and becomes something Ryel can’t come to terms with after having his own room for so long. 

Darcy talks and shouts in his sleep, while Harry’s breathing noises are epic, and keep Ryel awake all night. Half asleep through the day, his performance at school drops.

The only solution to the problem is the storeroom that houses the twins’ sports equipment and other stuff not currently being used.

Ryel comes up with a plan that could work.

 

The Year Six Annual Sockey Tournament is drawing near. He makes a deal with the twins. Whoever scores the highest, gets the room.

Competitive as always, the twins agree. In preparation, they shop for the appropriate socks, then wait.

But other obstacles arise when on the day when Ryel’s socks are snatched by a dog.

Will the socks belonging to the original winner of the Tournament work their magic for Ryel? Will he finally get his own room?

Told in a strong, first-person narrative voice by the character Ryel, Emma Cameron intuitively addresses with humour, situations in which blended families find themselves, and problems to which give and take, accepting change, and compromise, are the answers.

Title: A Room for Ryel
Author: Emma Cameron
Publisher: Wombat Books, $14.99
Publication Date: 6 March 2024
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978176111358
For ages: 11 – 14
Type: Middle Grade Fiction