Book Review – Katy

Katy is the latest offering from award-winning children and young adult author Jacqueline Wilson. She retells Susan Coolidge’s children’s classic What Katy Did, adding her own touch of wisdom to her reinvented ending. Wilson deals with more difficult themes like adoption and divorce in her novels and this latest one is no different.

Katy Carr is eleven and the eldest in her huge family of six children. She is smart and a daredevil, leaving the reader wondering what she’ll get up to next. I could not help falling in love with her from the first page. Her misadventures were so poignantly familiar that I laughed out loud and cringed right along with her.

An accident leaves Katy’s life upside down, and her lessons learnt are precious to both youngsters and adults. I especially enjoyed how she navigates her evolving relationships with her stepmother, Izzy and stepsister, Elsie.

Bedtimes came and went as neither my children (aged 8 and 10) nor I wanted to put this fast paced novel down. Wilson uses short, snappy sentences and delightful prose, keeping readers enthralled.

This is a smart and sassy novel for older children.