Sunday 19 October 2014

Ring of Roses by Mary Hooper (Young Adult, Dyslexia Friendly, 10/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

August 2014, Barrington Stoke, 72 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Content: plague, death, tissues needed

Summary from Barrington Stoke
Abby is delighted to be appointed to the position of nursemaid in the well-to-do Beauchurch household. But it’s the summer of 1665, and soon whispers are spreading through London that the Plague is returning.


Can Abby keep herself and her small charge Grace safe, or will the disaster engulf them?

Nayu's thoughts
I'd learnt a while back that the nursery rhyme 'Ring of Roses' was about the black death. I didn't realise how grim the rhyme, how much the symptoms and the believed prevention (at the time it happened) related to it. Mary makes that clear in this heart wrenching tale. Add children into a deadly disease and you can guess the atmosphere of the story. 

I did say on Twitter that I think Mary teamed up with Teresa Flavin, who wrote a creepy read Jet Black Heart, to have lessons in how to creep readers out and I stand by that! 

Suggested read 
Check out Jet Black Heart by Teresa Flavin (Young Adult, 10/10E) link to follow soon 

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