Paper Avalanche

Ro Snow is the girl no-one notices - she never has friends round because her home is full of rubbish and paper and she can't remember the colour of the carpet it's been so long since she's seen it. Her mum, Bonnie, is a hoarder and Ro lives in terror of social services finding out about the squalor she is forced to live in. But when Noah moves in next door, Ro can't hide the truth from him and she finds herself opening up for the first time in her life. And then there's the new girl at school, the adorable and persistent Tanvi, who can see that carefully hidden something-special in Ro too. And it's not long before Ro's carefully constructed castle of loneliness is crumbling down around her. What can I say? Yet another stunning novel from Lisa Williamson. Paper Avalanche will have you reaching for the tissues on more than one occasion, shouting out loud in frustration and rooting for Ro all the way through. Ro is a wonderful warm and caring character, her 'best friend' Tanvi is lovable and vivacious and Noah is just perfect for Ro. There is the usual horrible selection of students in Ro's year who are depicted as callous, vindictive and uncaring but a refreshing change is one minor character Cassie who seems to empathise in a small way with the bullying situations that affect Ro. Ro's parents are far from perfect. Her dad is awful! He has left Ro's mum (fair enough) but for him Ro now seems to be a necessary inconvenience that he would rather not have to deal with, much preferring his new wife Melanie and step-daughter Izzy. Bonnie, Ro's mum, is childishly unreliable and self-absorbed, even out of the chaotic home situation. Read the sequence when Ro desperately needs her mum to accompany her to an audition in London and I defy you to not want to shake some sense into her! However, towards the end you do start to warm to Bonnie just a little bit and hope beyond hope that she will change. Warning! You will need tissues at the end of the novel and yet there is no happy ending as such, you can only hope that things will begin to get better for Ro in her chaotic homelife. Bonnie promises to change and we begin to see a small glimpse of that but you are left under no illusion that Ro's dad is ever going to be the father she wants him to be. Sensitive, compelling and inspirational I just couldn't put it down. Recommended for all YA fiction fans who love being on an emotional rollercoaster. 371pages / Ages 14+ / Reviewed by Lucy Georgeson, school librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 11+