Madagascar Misadventure
I listened to this story before recommending it to a teenager. It has that good mix of excitement and natural history that I like in a book. Read in a clear, warm voice, it's a good story to sit back and relax to.
I knew nothing about Madagascar until I heard the story, but I soon realised that the author really knows the island and by end I felt I'd been there.
book lover
Himalayan Hideout
The author has done another good job of giving us an intriguing plot with twists and turns while providing glimpses into the life, culture and scenery of the Himalayas. This should appeal to young adults and adults (read advanced teen readers and beyond). The author again proved she’s in the relatively small circle of authors who can provide a respectable performance of her own work.
Leanne
Himalayan Kidnap
This is a gripping and fast-paced story, firmly rooted in reality. There are two boys, young, funny, vulnerable and scared. And there’s the exotic and alien environment of the Himalayas, rich with vividly enticing wildlife – but also full of danger. This adventure story dramatically explores how determination can turn into heroism.
Victor Watson, children's author
Himalayan Heist
This is an adventure story for adults and young adults. It is a breathlessly exciting page-turner, in the long tradition of quest stories.
The complex and shifting relationships of the three main protagonists – Alex and James, and their engaging girl companion Bim – are put to the test as they work their way through the beautiful and dangerous Nepalese landscape. They know what they have to do, but not what they will be required to face. Perils confront them at every turn, some natural, others man-made. The Nepalese landscape – presented in vivid and almost tactile clarity – can be beautiful, but also menacing.
In many adventure stories the characters are the main interest and the setting is little more than a lifeless backcloth; or the landscape is the writer’s real subject and the protagonists are anaemic stereotypes whose only purpose is to move the story forward. But here the characterisation is enmeshed within the action and the setting. Without noticing, readers find themselves caring about the characters, anxious when they are separated, comforted when they are reunited.
The author is a traveller. She writes about places and people she knows well, so there is an integrity in her writing and a total authenticity in the heft and feel of the story. So her accounts of the wildlife, the valleys and mountains and rivers, and the people the three main characters come across, have truth in them.
Victor Watson, editor of The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English