Marooned in Manhattan

I liked the way the book hooks you in by starting with an action-packed scene from near the end of the book where Evie is stuck in a rubbish shoot trying to escape security guards. The rest of the book builds up to that moment and explains why she gets into such a predicament. Evie's mum has died, and she never met her father who left before she was born. So the story really starts at the funeral in Ireland where we are introduced to her uncle Scott. Scott is her only relation, so reluctantly she goes to New York to live with him - on the proviso that if she doesn't like it she can come back to Ireland and live with her mum&'s best friend Janet. She soon begins to love helping out at the vet's practice, which is run by her uncle Scott. She also makes friends with Greg, his handsome older brother Finn and Kylie who help her hatch a plot to get rid of the two-faced, selfish and cruel Leela. Leela is the lovely Scott's totally unsuitable girlfriend, and it's not hard to see that he'd be much happier with kind, sensitive Joanna (the other vet) who is going out with the rather boring Stefan. It's a heart warmer, with lots of characters that you grow to really like, as well as some great incidental characters and their animals. A book which will appeal to girls aged 10-14, especially animal lovers, and a good author to try for girls stuck on Jacqueline Wilson. 219 pages / Ages 10+ / Melanie Chadwick

Suggested Reading Age 14+