Mud

'This diary is the last birthday present Mum ever gave me, three years ago when I was ten.' Now 13, Lydia begins to record her observations of family life. Since her mother's death, cracks have begun to appear in the once secure family unit and Lydia's diary begins with the news that their home is to be sold, her father is to remarry and both sets of children are to move with their parent into an old Thames sailing barge. It's not long before, through Lydia's eyes, we begin to see that it's not only the boat that is at sea. The once familiar stability of the family begins to sink slowly, as it were, into the metaphorical mud. As an adult reader I picked up, more quickly that Lydia appears to (or would), the worrying signs of her father sinking into depression and alcoholism. The new, and probably unwise, marriage begins to collapse. Lydia's salvation is her new friendship with Kay and, despite her initial reluctance to engage with them, her new siblings and step mother. Mud charts realistically the challenges of family life as they cope with adolescence, bereavement and loss. Lydia's diary is authentic and consistent and acutely observed; it is funny and poignant, moving and smart. I will recommend this to pupils in Years 7 and 8. 403 pages / Ages 11+ / Reviewed by Jane Welby, school librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 11+