Lost Christmas by David Logan
Oct. 27th, 2011 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
”Give him your hand Frank. Let him tell you what you’ve lost. Old Lady’s lost a bangle, he knows I’ve lost a dog, well you’ve lost something too. Let him tell you what.”
Goose is lost. It’s Christmas, his parents are dead and now his dog Mutt has gone missing. Those around him aren’t doing much better: his uncle Frank’s wife has walked out on him and his Nan is losing her mind.
But then Anthony appears: a man who seems to know everything about those he touches but nothing at all about himself …
Who is he, how does he know so much, and can he help Goose and other lost souls recover what they’ve lost?
Last Christmas was the worst of Goose’s life when his parents were killed in a car accident. Since then his life has gone off the rails. Having moved in with his grandmother (who’s becoming more and more forgetful), he’s turned to burglarising houses and selling the stolen goods to his uncle Frank. But his life really hits rock bottom when his dog, Mutt, goes missing.
While searching for Mutt, Goose meets Anthony who has literally appeared out of nowhere. Anthony has a weird ability to know everything about those he touches but he has no memory of who he is and isn’t even sure whether Anthony is his real name. As Anthony and Goose search for Mutt, they come into contact with other people who have lost things, people who only they can help …
David Logan’s middle grade novel is a combination of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and SHAMELESS, set in contemporary Manchester.
I found Goose to be an interesting character, angry and guilt-ridden he’s too wrapped up in his own pain to care about the effect that his thievery has on others. With his grandmother slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s, all he has left is his dog, which explains why he’s so desperate to find it. As he travels with Anthony however, he’s made aware of some of the effect of what he’s done and in doing so, comes to care for the strange Anthony whose ability to know the history of things begins to take an awful toll.
Anthony remains a cypher and although bits of his memory come back during the story, I never really got a sense of him being more than a plot device. By contrast I found Frank to be more developed, separated from his family and desperate to get them back he’s turned to petty crime as a way of looking after Goose as much as to earn money to take care of his wife and daughter.
Although elements of the plot will be familiar to older readers (and the final twist is telegraphed too early), the plot is breezily told and continues to hold the attention until the end (which I found to be very moving).
All in all this is a heart-warming tale that’s well-told and should be a good Christmas gift for any child who loves a good story.
The Verdict:
David Logan’s novel is a combination of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and SHAMELESS for children. Although elements of the story will be familiar to older readers (who may well guess the twist), it’s still a heart-warming tale that’s told well. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a Christmas gift for keen readers.
LOST CHRISTMAS was released in the UK on 27th October. Thanks to Quercus for the ARC of this book.
Goose is lost. It’s Christmas, his parents are dead and now his dog Mutt has gone missing. Those around him aren’t doing much better: his uncle Frank’s wife has walked out on him and his Nan is losing her mind.
But then Anthony appears: a man who seems to know everything about those he touches but nothing at all about himself …
Who is he, how does he know so much, and can he help Goose and other lost souls recover what they’ve lost?
Last Christmas was the worst of Goose’s life when his parents were killed in a car accident. Since then his life has gone off the rails. Having moved in with his grandmother (who’s becoming more and more forgetful), he’s turned to burglarising houses and selling the stolen goods to his uncle Frank. But his life really hits rock bottom when his dog, Mutt, goes missing.
While searching for Mutt, Goose meets Anthony who has literally appeared out of nowhere. Anthony has a weird ability to know everything about those he touches but he has no memory of who he is and isn’t even sure whether Anthony is his real name. As Anthony and Goose search for Mutt, they come into contact with other people who have lost things, people who only they can help …
David Logan’s middle grade novel is a combination of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and SHAMELESS, set in contemporary Manchester.
I found Goose to be an interesting character, angry and guilt-ridden he’s too wrapped up in his own pain to care about the effect that his thievery has on others. With his grandmother slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s, all he has left is his dog, which explains why he’s so desperate to find it. As he travels with Anthony however, he’s made aware of some of the effect of what he’s done and in doing so, comes to care for the strange Anthony whose ability to know the history of things begins to take an awful toll.
Anthony remains a cypher and although bits of his memory come back during the story, I never really got a sense of him being more than a plot device. By contrast I found Frank to be more developed, separated from his family and desperate to get them back he’s turned to petty crime as a way of looking after Goose as much as to earn money to take care of his wife and daughter.
Although elements of the plot will be familiar to older readers (and the final twist is telegraphed too early), the plot is breezily told and continues to hold the attention until the end (which I found to be very moving).
All in all this is a heart-warming tale that’s well-told and should be a good Christmas gift for any child who loves a good story.
The Verdict:
David Logan’s novel is a combination of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE and SHAMELESS for children. Although elements of the story will be familiar to older readers (who may well guess the twist), it’s still a heart-warming tale that’s told well. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a Christmas gift for keen readers.
LOST CHRISTMAS was released in the UK on 27th October. Thanks to Quercus for the ARC of this book.
