Banks ends the 'Indian in the Cupboard' books on a high note with this story. In 'Mystery', Omri's father stumbles into the secret and together they must find a way to help Little Bear one last time.

'The Key to the Indian' digs deeper into history than the previous installments, underlining the impact that colonization had on native civilizations in America and Omri faces some uncomfortable truths about British involvements with the Iroquois. He also has a nightmarish experience into his own family's past in India. Omri and his father, once he's been brought up to speed, have to think a lot about what they can do to help Little Bear and his tribe and their conversations will illuminate a young reader about the difficulties of the era. Our good friend Patrick arrives to help and is as helpful as expected.

The series has its ups and downs, but its well worth getting through the first and second sequels to read the end of the series, because Banks makes the reader ask the right questions and she provides some answers. She doesn't sacrifice the adventure either. For a middle grade series, that's a great accomplishment. A great series about history and about family.

 

Omri and Little Bear

Previous: 'The Mystery of the Cupboard'

I was sucked in from the cover. Honestly, the description only determined that it was something potentially cute. But honestly, it would have had to been a horrible plot to turn me away! I had to read about these awesome looking fairies!

Tiki was fantastic! Caring, determined and strong! She helps the human Jan to have a child and then continues to be very involved in their lives in the years to come. Yet when her queen finds out, she is in a world of trouble.

Now from the summary I expected that trouble to come sooner. Each page I kept waiting for it. Well, it doesn't come until much closer to the end. That is when the story really heats up. Until then, it is honestly a bit slow. Cute, but slow. Bindi was an adorable kid, Jan and her husband was just randomly there with no personality. But the fairies-they are another story, full of life and personality and silly quirks!

This is perfect for tweens readers. Lynne Reid Banks continues to impress me with her unique creative worlds. This book is no exception.

A charming look back at the experience of a British evacuee family who takes refuge in a Saskatchewan home to escape the bombings of WW2. We follow Lindy, a ten year old girl, her mother, and a twelve year old male cousin as they try to adjust to life in Canada. The generosity of the Canadian hosts who housed, clothed,entertained, and fed the evacuee families was impressive and a revelation to me. Narrated through the eyes of both the younger, and then the elderly Lindy, it made for a simple and fast read. The narrator's credibility diminishes at the end when she retells her cousin's attempt to escape Canada to return to England. The cousin wasn't forthcoming with the exact details, so the story is narrated according to what Lindy thinks might have happened. Uprooted, A Canadian War Story, is nevertheless a pleasurable middle grade read.

It's easy to forget how completely different the late 1950s were in Britain when compared with 2014. "The L-Shaped Room" byLynne Reid Banks is a perfect time capsule that puts us right back into that era. Even for readers who know about the differences it still a shocking read. Crass and cliched racial stereotypes abound and, lest we forget, this was how the majority of British people perceived "foreigners" living in Britain, and - at this book's heart - just what a taboo it was to be pregnant and unmarried. 

"The L-Shaped Room" tells the story of Jane, a single young woman who falls pregnant. Jane is a brave character who decides to bring up the baby by herself, after her father throws her out of home. Her feelings of determination are also saturated by shame. To punish herself she rents a sordid L-shaped room at the top of a run- down boarding house in Fulham. To say more would be to ruin a story that initially felt incidental but became more compelling towards the book's conclusion.

The L-Shaped Room brilliantly evokes a grim era when women were routinely patronised and made to feel guilty, and when being single and pregnant exacerbated this treatment. It also perfectly chronicles the lives of people on the fringes of society thrown together in a boarding house. I realise this might make the book sound depressing, and it contains plenty of downbeat sections, however ultimately it is a novel about courage, friendship, self-discovery, family, and redemption. I thought it was a great read.

After reading the book I listened to a discussion with Lynne Reid Banks on BBC Radio 4's Book Club programme which was really interesting and further enhanced my enjoyment. Click here to listen.

4/5

ah, elementary school reading.