Review: Heartwarming coming-of-age story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 31, 2012
Meggie Blackthorn is a spirited, intelligent eleven-year-old who goes to live with her grandparents so she can attend the grammar school for which she has earned a place.  The story is set in the area of Newcastle, England, in the early 1960s, and the author brings this period to life brilliantly with lots of unobtrusive detail.  It's very easy to warm quickly to young Meggie, whose life has changed completely by going to live with her grandparents and attending a new school.  She makes some new friends but also has to cope with a threatening bully, Billy Fish, who is the son of an unpleasant woman working in her grandfather's shop.I particularly liked how that time (60s northern England) was brought vividly to life in this story, and how real and believable Meggie as a character was portrayed.  Although it's a young adult, coming-of-age book, I feel it would appeal also to an older generation who would like to be reminded of a bygone era.I really enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it.