—
Manisha Chaudhry
-- by Hanne Bramness Eklavya Publications, Bhopal, 2014, 156 pp., 110
November 2014, volume 38, No 11

If you like your young adult novel sepia-tinted, then this book is for you. The beautifully detailed cover illustration of lilies in shades of grey, beige and the cleverest touch of red captures the mood of the book. It is a sombre account of twelve year old Evelyn’s journey from Argentina to war-torn England. While war tears families asunder, Evelyn’s predicament of turning into Lynette and being banished with her little sister Winnie, to the industrial town of Nottingham leaves a trail of loose ends in the schema of the novel. However, it is to the author, Hanne Bramness’s credit that she builds mood and character so skillfully that the reader only wishes for Lynette to emerge as her own person from the grey fog of Nottingham, duly rewarded for her grit. The loose ends remain but do not jar enough to distance you from the fortunes of the tough and tender heroine.

Continue reading this review