Children of Morwenna
Helene Smith

Fremantle Arts Centre Press 2003
248p., pbk., $16.95
1863683569

This story made me want to know more from the very beginning and the clear writing by the author made it an easy read most of the time. It wasn’t a book I couldn’t put down though, as I found that sometimes the plot became a bit hard to understand, but this was not often.

The characters became real for me, though I think a little more work could have been done on them. Most of the time I wanted to know what they did next because I cared about happened to them.

I would say the message in this story was ‘When in despair, NEVER lose hope’, as the main issue raised was the matter of losing the things you care for most and still being able to go on.

I didn’t really like the cover, though after reading most of the book it did start to mean something. The language is slightly different because it is written as people speak, though it is still very easy to read and the print is quite large and easy to see.

This is not the kind of book I would go out of my way to buy (let the library do that) but I am glad I read this book because I have been taught a lesson of courage and hope. I would recommend Children of Morwena to people who like a storyline of ‘everything’s gone but we must go on’, and who are between the ages of 11-15yrs. I have enjoyed this book and I hope the people who read it will too.

Zayne,12, Tasmania