review by MaryomDaniel and his dad - and his pet tomato plant - are spending autumn half term week at a leisure resort deep in Marwood Forest. It should be a week of quality time spent together, playing sport and generally bonding - something their family is short of since mum ran off with her GP. Daniel would rather avoid all of these if possible and is quite happy when Dad decides to 'bond' with the young attractive women in the next chalet, leaving him free to do as he likes. Instead of joining in the regimented sports activites, Daniel just wants to hang out with Lexi, the rather strange girl he's met. Rather strange? very strange, at least! No one else seems to pay her any attention at all, her watch is going backwards and instead of fading, her cuts and bruises get worse.
*Slight Plot Spoilers*
Having read and been greatly impressed by Edward Hogan's two adult novels, Blackmoor and The Hunger Trace, I was curious to see what this his first Teen novel would be like. Daylight Saving is a compelling, fast-paced read - like Hogan's adult novel it feels like a deceptively simple story, until you start to pick up on the darker underlying threads.
Daniel, Dad and Lexi are all trying to come to terms with past events, accepting them being the only way to move on.The reader is aware before Daniel appears to be, that Lexi is a ghost and that something horrific must have happened to her. Now she's trapped in the limbo of Leisure World, forced into living over and over the events that led to her death. As the time arrives when the clocks 'go back' and everyone gets a chance to live that last hour once more, can Daniel find a way to save her, and himself?
Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Walker Books
Genre - teen, supernatural, thriller
Buy Daylight Saving
from Amazon
No comments:
Post a Comment