Two in One

Two In One

Thanks to Emily, I have just finished How I Live Now and Counselling for Toads. I hope to put them through your door on Saturday, Emily.

I think that How I Live Now was a pacey read that tried to engage the reader in a lesson on the vulnerability and shallowness of a lot of our modern way of life without it becoming boring or seem like a lecture. At strategic points the story jolted you and made you eager for the next chapter. The style, however, I didn’t find convincing, as excited children who talk in long sentences and want to get it out as fast as possible tend to be under ten, not 15. I can’t think of a teenager I know who rattles on like that. Please tell me I’m wrong if you know otherwise.
So what’s wrong with quotation marks? They do make speech obvious and you don’t have to keep checking the sense of what you’re reading. The ‘whatever, as if’ tone PROBABLY appeals to the TARGET age group, but I found it a bit WEARING.

Counselling for Toads was a terrific little book. I love the Wind in the Willows characters and the way they were used to show how counselling works was brilliant. I learnt a lot from reading it, as I feel anyone would. One for the shelf, I think.