Do you like books which contain romance, comedy, history and fantasy? This could be the book for you!
The book is set in 1952 at Cold Tarn School and in 2007 in the woods surrounding the same school. Children are sent to Cold Tarn school to be educated and to acquire better health. They have to do all their lessons in the open air, all year round! The story is about Charlotte (Charlie) leaving 2007 and moving into 1952. At the school everybody believes that she is called Joyce, which makes her very frustrated and angry. Charlie does everything she can to escape from the school, but she can only get out if she accepts help from Jack, who is a another pupil at the school. Jack is always running away because he hates Cold Tarn, but he fails everytime!
The main characters are Jack and Charlie. Charlie is a very forceful, uncaring person at the start, but by the end she feels sorry for Jack because people tease him and make his life difficult. Charlie doesn't really show her emotions towards other characters in the story. Jack is a very practical boy who enjoys an adventure, and he helps Charlie to track down Joyce's family.
I feel sorry for Charlie because all she wants to do is to get back to her family and grandad in 2007. I feel sorry for Jack because he hates Cold Tarn, but he is forced to stay there because he has no parents or siblings.
Robert Swindells is a Carnegie Medal-Winning author. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys diary entry books and adventure. I enjoyed the book because I loved how it was set out like a historical documentary. In my opinion this book is ideal for 11-14 year olds.
