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bookbint's review against another edition
3.0
Set in the 1970s, Clara is left alone when her guardian, her uncle leaves her in the village near Leeds.
A young boy turns up & it seems his Grandma was meant to be helping Clara's uncle but is too ill.
Breaking a window Clara and Peter, and his cat stay at the house. The children from Cook's house come to play and things go well until visits from buyers for the house show up.
Finding out information about her mother Clara gets the others to help her.
A great mystery unfolds and the children are in a race to solve it before being captured. A great read, I especially liked how children had the freedom to travel & go out on their own without parents back in the day. Although dangerous they had the confidence and savvy to travel and possess themselves without a mobile phone that children lack these days. A fun read.
A young boy turns up & it seems his Grandma was meant to be helping Clara's uncle but is too ill.
Breaking a window Clara and Peter, and his cat stay at the house. The children from Cook's house come to play and things go well until visits from buyers for the house show up.
Finding out information about her mother Clara gets the others to help her.
A great mystery unfolds and the children are in a race to solve it before being captured. A great read, I especially liked how children had the freedom to travel & go out on their own without parents back in the day. Although dangerous they had the confidence and savvy to travel and possess themselves without a mobile phone that children lack these days. A fun read.
goldenbooksgirl's review against another edition
4.0
I saved this debut mystery-adventure specially so that it could be my first read of the new year, and I`m so glad I did as it got things off to a great start. It is the story of a girl named Clara, who lives with her emotionally negligent uncle, as he abandons her to fend for herself. Then the savvier Peter and his cat Stockwell arrive and it seems like life may actually be better for Clara, but soon they must unravel the mysteries of Clara`s past and save Clara`s deteriorating mansion, and themselves, from dangerous outside forces. Clara is such a classic book heroine, and I think a lot of people will adore her- she has had a really rather horrid childhood, she is bookish and best of all, she is extremely brave throughout all of the situations she faces, no matter how afraid she is. I also adored clever, caring Peter and their friend Amelia Ann, and of course Stockwell. The mystery element is also wonderful. While we learn fairly quickly who is posing a danger (it is very hard to talk about this part of the book without giving spoilers!), this only serves to make the antagonists more menacing, and I loved learning about the motivations behind their actions. I was totally glued to the book as I got further in, and I stayed up ridiculously late to finish it because I was just too worried about the characters and mystified about why things were happening that I simply couldn’t sleep without finding out. The ending and the revelations that come by the conclusion concluded this story so well, and I really love how things end for Clara and Peter. This is a really excellent, gripping story, and if you enjoy MG books in this vein then I`d highly recommend this one. 4.5/5
jill_rey's review against another edition
4.0
Ballet may be the backbone of this book, but Clara provides all the necessary fillings for making it a magical story.
Clara lives a miserable routine filled life. Her uncle barely speaks to her and doesn’t allow her the freedom and joys natural in any child’s life. But suddenly the burden of “raising” Clara is too much as uncle seemingly dumps her, alone in the world to fend for herself. It is at this juncture that Clara’s real story begins to unwind in such an enjoyable, yet tragic, way.
Written from the heart of a child, Clara and The Secret Starling take on a perseverance of its own as author Judith Eagle graces us with the joys, terrors and decisions that come with being alone in the world, orphaned and betrayed.
*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Clara lives a miserable routine filled life. Her uncle barely speaks to her and doesn’t allow her the freedom and joys natural in any child’s life. But suddenly the burden of “raising” Clara is too much as uncle seemingly dumps her, alone in the world to fend for herself. It is at this juncture that Clara’s real story begins to unwind in such an enjoyable, yet tragic, way.
Written from the heart of a child, Clara and The Secret Starling take on a perseverance of its own as author Judith Eagle graces us with the joys, terrors and decisions that come with being alone in the world, orphaned and betrayed.
*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
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