Sun kissed by Jenny McLachlan
Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 9781408856116
(Age: Upper primary - lower secondary) Themes: love, friendship,
fitness, Sweden, challenges, resilience, humour. 15 year old Kat,
after an unfortunate incident involving her older sister's
ex-boyfriend, is sent to spend the summer holidays with her aunt in
Sweden. Devastated at leaving her best friends behind, Kat promises
to keep in constant communication with them and travels, alone for
the first time, to Stockholm, where there is the anticipation of
some serious shopping opportunities. However, on arrival eccentric
Aunt Frida whisks her off to a remote island to a cabin without
power and no phone signal. Once on the island Kat is free to roam,
meeting Nanna and her twin who are training for the island's
marathon challenge 'Tuff Troll' involving a 5km run, a 1km swim and
a 1km kayak. Things look up when Kat meets Leo and spends a
wonderful day alone with him, capped off with a thrilling cliff jump
into deep water. When Leo's girlfriend turns up Kat is hurt and
confused but vows not to let them spoil her stay. She tells them she
and her friend are entering the competition and the story unfolds
from there. This is the third in the Ladybirds series,
following the group of friends negotiating the early teen years with
humour as they find out who they are and what is important in their
lives. Romance is there but friendship, discovering inner strengths
and resilience are more central and in this volume Kat explores some
of her Swedish heritage and discovers the power of physical
competition in developing self-awareness and inner strength.
This playful look at girls on the brink of independence experiencing
lots of 'firsts' in life will appeal to 'Chic Lit' lovers from upper
primary to lower secondary.
The author's website is here.
Sue Speck