Small Change For Stuart

Small Change For Stuart
By Lissa Evans

Stuart is a ten year old boy who is incredibly small for his age, and is often picked on because of this. When he moves house to dull and dreary Beeton, his life gets worse and worse, especially when he meets the triplets next door. But the boredom doesn't last long; when Stuart discovers a message from his missing Great Uncle, he sets out on a quest to find the magician's workshop that was left behind by following a series of clues. However, he has very limited time and there are others searching too...

I thought this book was stunning and I was really caught up in the plot despite probably being considered too old to read it! I know I would have loved to read a book like this when I was younger, yet I still really enjoyed.

The series of clues is a really good idea, and although not unique, I thought Evans used the context around it to make it as unusual as possible. I loved how everything fitted together at the end, and whilst there were a couple of lose threads left, most my questions were answered and I felt extremely satisfied. I can see a sequel being written for this book, but it works just as well as a stand alone novel.

I really liked how Stuart was characterised, and how he reminded me of a ten year old - his thoughts and feelings were spot on. I also enjoyed the development of April as a character as I felt she helped to compliment many aspects of Stuart's character, as well as making both characters very relevant to ten year olds today.

There were continuous twists and turns, but nothing too complicated to follow, yet nothing was predictable and I was constantly turning the pages. I thought that the way magic and comedy were woven into the story were pretty much seamless. Nothing seemed tacky or silly - everything was completely believable and had that lovely old fashioned feel about it, but was also very modern. The comic moments were well executed and were not over the top or trying to be funny and failing.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to children and young adults of all ages - no one is 'too old' for this book!

Rachel, Yr 12