Willow Bright's secret plot by A. L. Tait

Willow Bright is a country girl to her very core (a cowgirl with skills to match), but now she is reluctantly required to adapt to city existence with its rush and restrictions. And not only that, but she must also live with her Aunt and cousin, far removed from her Dad in his new mining job, and far from her Mum’s gravesite on the country farm she can never return to. A small overgrown garden plot, and its old owner, gives her an opportunity to reconnect with ‘the land’ and to understand her place in her strange new environment in the city. Perhaps she can also unravel a mystery that seems to involve her new school in some strange happenings. 

This is a delightful story, combining pathos and growth for the young Willow. It also shows her surviving the difficulties of a new home, new school, new life, with  a resilience and determination that is commendable in  a 12-year-old. She must cope with her perpetual grief, bullies and finding new friends, and comes up with a ‘plot’ to escape the pressures by helping an elderly isolated man with his garden ‘plot’. The gentle growth in maturity in the face of difficulty makes this a good book for readers aged 10-13.

Themes: Moving, family, city life, grief, friendship, bullying, development.

Carolyn Hull