Annabelle’s life on a farm in post-War Pennsylvania and her
close-knit family in the village of Wolf Hollow, are at the centre of this
story about lies and truth - and how prejudice can sometimes blind a whole community.
The action centres on the arrival of new girl, Betty. She takes her
seat in the single school room where all ages are taught in the same room, each taking
their place in rotation in a row at the front of class. Betty's arrival disturbs cosy rituals, but it's not just the class Betty has her eye on disrupting.
She plots to hurt Annabelle and her two younger
brothers for very little reason other than her wish to torment others and takes
joy out of seeing people suffer. Betty's success demonstrates very neatly how effective simply telling lies about someone can be.
Betty is a brilliantly monstrous villain. One of the best (maybe worst?) of recent fiction.
Betty is a brilliantly monstrous villain. One of the best (maybe worst?) of recent fiction.
Her vicious brand of nastiness soon recruits another
follower to her games of torment. She is a brilliant manipulator, striking out at others, while cunningly and shamelessly avoiding any blame.
But when a girl at school loses an eye. Betty needs to find a scapegoat and blame all too believably falls on Toby. A gun-carrying veteran, disturbed by his experiences in the War, unshaven, hardly speaking, Toby lives on the outskirts of Wolf Hollow.
People already find him strange and mistrustful, except brave and clear-eyed twelve-year-old Annabelle, who has already forged an unlikely friendship with Toby and sets out to clear his name.
Her mission is to find a way to make the village see monstrous Betty for what she really is. Annabelle can only attempt to hide him from authorities while she tries to find a way to get Betty to speak the truth.
But it sparks a chain of events that only get worse and the story becomes a fast-paced roller coaster to disaster.
People already find him strange and mistrustful, except brave and clear-eyed twelve-year-old Annabelle, who has already forged an unlikely friendship with Toby and sets out to clear his name.
Her mission is to find a way to make the village see monstrous Betty for what she really is. Annabelle can only attempt to hide him from authorities while she tries to find a way to get Betty to speak the truth.
But it sparks a chain of events that only get worse and the story becomes a fast-paced roller coaster to disaster.
This morally complex coming of age tale is about how
prejudice is stoked and how impossible it can be to make people see the
truth when the lies are more easy to believe in.
Annabelle’s belief and determination in the face of prejudice is a bright light in a
sobering tale.
A beautifully told and complex story that gives young readers a taste of life's moral complexities and will keep them gripped until the end.
Nicki Thornton
A beautifully told and complex story that gives young readers a taste of life's moral complexities and will keep them gripped until the end.
Nicki Thornton
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