A Flute in Mayferry Street by Eileen Dunlop (Floris Books, £4.99)
A single-parent family with two children living in a huge, inherited house in Edinburgh sets the scene for this children's tale which includes hauntings and magical dreams.
Eileen Dunlop is an established writer of children's books and this is a revised and updated version of her 1976 tale. The widowed Mrs Ramsay, her son Colin and 17-year-old disabled daughter Marion live in an unwelcoming home.
Their inertia and general sense of dampened emotions is equally leaden and will only be lightened by the promise of a real mystery to be solved, which comes in a letter and other hidden clues.
The words and characters evoked in the long-forgotten correspondence take hold of Marion's imagination and weave a web of intrigue and magic around the household. With skill and imagination Dunlop guides the young reader in and out of hope and disappointment. This novel combines a jolly good story with the added bonus of moral teaching, teenage awakenings, and some deeply ethereal ideas. The tale is rounded up with a plethora of neatly happy outcomings which will satisfy the most romantic of 10 to 14 year-olds.
Jackie Harris
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article