Review: Entertaining pre-teen caper
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 25, 2012
I don't normally read children's books but I enjoyed the chapters I read on Authonomy and wanted to find out where the story ended.Daniel and his sister, Sophie, live at Misty Point farm in New Zealand.Then Cousin Felicity arrives; she is sophisticated with both feet in the modern world and it is evident that she looks down on her cousin's existence.Then the chickens on the farm, all but one, are killed with what appears to be snake venom.Daniel and Sophie are caught up in the mystery and it is not long before Felicity joins in.Mr Kaczmarek has written a compelling pre-teen caper. Adventure rivalry and intrigue blend to create tension and lead to a dramatic ending.  His New Zealand slang adds to, rather than detracts from, the characters and the dialogue is effective. The story is told from the viewpoint of a ten year old boy which makes it all the more readable.Worth of the time and money. I sincerely hope we see lots more from Mr Kaczmarek in future.