My Rereading Challenge Week 4

Somewhat of a misnomer this week as these are two new books borrowed from Rainham Library, but as I said at the start of the challenge we really must support our local libraries. So, this week, we continue one series of books and complete another.

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

The fifth book in the Rivers of London series sees PC Peter Grant travel outside London for the first time, where he is sent to investigate the disappearance of two girls, Nicole Lacey and Hannah Marstowe that may have a supernatural element. The search for the two girls takes him to Hereford and Worcestershire where his liaison, DC Dominic Croft, gets a crash course in weird phenomena. Inspector Nightingale sends Beverly Brook to keep him company and negotiate with supernatural beings. The plot twist from Book 4 bubbles away under the surface, but, as it turns out, that is perhaps the least important part of the book. Beverly shows herself to be a very effective partner for Peter, personally and professionally, and their growing relationship is a delight. In typical Aaronovitch style the book wrongfoots us plot wise, but I obviously won’t spoil it. Suffice to say I got to the end of the first part completely confused as to where it was headed next, but the second half was just as much of a delight. We meet Hugh Oswald, a contemporary of Nightingale who was involved in Ettersberg, and his daughter Melissa, both of whom give an insight into the wizarding life outside the capital. This is all part of the deepening folklore of the Rivers of London series which has made it such a great series to read. As ever, I wholeheartedly recommend this book, but you do definitely need to have read Books 1 – 4 before you tackle this one as a certain amount of familiarity with the rest of the series is a must. Roll on Book 6!

Forever Geek by Holly Smale

This is the sixth and last full length novel in the brilliant Geek Girl series. As with any favourite series, there is a simultaneous excitement at seeing it reach a conclusion and a sadness that this is it, unless the author decides to revisit the character later on in their writing career. Whilst keeping my fingers crossed for the latter, I am very happy to report that if we never see Harriet Manners again, her story is brought to the most satisfying possible conclusion, however bittersweet it might be.

Harriet finds herself on a flight to Australia with grandmother Bunty and best friend Nat. Harriet’s aim is to help Nat’s designs get out to a wider audience, whilst also enjoying a holiday with her grandmother. The modelling seems to be a little more unplanned than expected, although Harriet has decided to be spontaneous, as far as she can be anyway! She has a strict schedule of calls with new boyfriend Jasper, taking into account time zones and his restaurant shifts, but that schedule is ruined soon after she lands when Harriet breaks her new smartphone and is given the most old fashioned mobile possible by Bunty. The trouble for the new, more spontaneous, Harriet is that where she makes spur of the moment decisions they lead to total chaos. For example, her first self-sourced modelling job sees her sailing out to the Great Barrier Reef with a very hazy idea of what she is doing, dressed in an outfit that is falling apart bit by bit. This leads to a series of events that even Harriet’s many fans will not have foreseen.

Holly Smale finds a way to bring back all of the main characters for a final turn on the catwalk. Wilbur was in the background this time, but he makes the most of his appearances in this finale. Nick aka Lion Boy and fearsome fashion designer Yuka Ito play pivotal roles in this book and it’s a delight to see them both. Harriet’s parents are largely heard or mentioned rather than seen, but like Wilbur their stories have been nicely concluded in previous books.

I love Geek Girl and I love Australia so this book was always going to be a favourite of mine. There was more seriousness than perhaps had been apparent in previous books, but that was right given Harriet’s changing nature, and the ending left me quite emotional with its beauty and insight. However, this is Geek Girl, so Harriet leaves you with a smile on your face and a lift in your spirits. It truly is one of the crowning glories of Young Adult writing and whatever your age it is a delight. I just hold out the faint hope that Harriet might come back, older, wiser but just as chaotic!