Review: Exciting!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 29, 2012
12 year old Jack is gifted with a sixth sense. When his parents tell him they're all going to the Lake District for a winter holiday, young Jack is beside himself with worry. He has no idea why, he just knows they shouldn't be going!Their destination is a remote cabin high in the woods. After the long drive they stop in a village, so that Jack's mother can buy provisions. While waiting for her, Jack notices a white van, the driver a large unpleasant, shifty looking character, glares at him. Jack is panic stricken, and it turns out with good reason!His mother returns to the car and they continue their journey to the cabin. Jack's initial delight with the place is dampened by the arrival of his obnoxious, spoilt cousin, Rosie.Jack's continued unease, along with Rosie's annoying presence compound his sense of doom, and it's not long before disaster strikes and Jack and Rosie are thrown together, and forced to survive the freezing weather as they try to elude the horrible man, Jack saw in the village.Knowing Jack by Julie Elizabeth Powell is an exciting read...an adventure to be enjoyed by all ages. I loved the character of Jack. For one so young, he's strong and brave.At first I found Rosie extremely annoying, which is down to the good writing of the author. However as I got immersed in the story, I began to like Rosie more and more.Apart from the horrid man with the white van and his equally awful wife, the remaining characters in the story are pretty light weight.There were some miner grammar issues. Also there were times, when the author called Rosie the girl and Jack the boy, which I found jarring...it broke the intimacy and connection I had with them. However, the story is so good, it didn't detract too much.The author's descriptive skills are excellent. She wove a tale that drew you in and held you right the end.I'm looking forward to reading more books by Julie Elisabeth Powell.