Tag: Simon French

Other Brother by Simon French

We’re brothers, we are.

That’s what he had said. Suddenly, his arm was around my shoulder as we kneeled together on my bedroom floor, surrounded by most of my toys. He had looked up at my mum as she held her camera to take the photo, and that’s exactly what came out of his mouth when the camera flash went off. In the photo, he was smiling, although his eyes didn’t seem to. In the photo, my mouth was open and I looked a little surprised.

We’re brothers, we are.

That’s what he had said. Suddenly, his arm was around my shoulder as we kneeled together on my bedroom floor, surrounded by most of my toys. He had looked up at my mum as she held her camera to take the photo, and that’s exactly what came out of his mouth when the camera flash went off. In the photo, he was smiling, although his eyes didn’t seem to. In the photo, my mouth was open and I looked a little surprised.

In truth, I remembered being angry. This boy, who I didn’t know, had snuck away from everybody else in our backyard and found my bedroom. He had found all my toys as well, and by the time I discovered him, nearly everything I liked and played with was spread across my bedroom.

Other Brother

Kieran is in his last year at primary school and things are going okay for him until his cousin, Bon, arrives. Bon is about Kieran’s age, but that seems like all they have in common. And now Bon is going to Kieran’s school, he’s ruining everything. Kieran wishes Bon would just go away. But at home, everyone thinks he’s great. Even his little sister. Even Nan. Nothing is the same. Everyone else thinks Kieran should be looking out for Bon, even the Julia, the other new kid at school. But Kieran is more inclined to listen to Mason and Lucas, the cool kids at school. They, like him, see Bon as unusual and the only attention they’re going to give him is their scorn.

 

In Other Brother Simon French offers another gritty and realistic story about families and relationships, about a boy on the brink of high school and puberty discovering a more complex world. Kieran’s behaviour appears perfectly rational and reasonable as he objects to the forced relationship with his odd-seeming cousin. Only gradually does Kieran emerge from his bubble of self to begin to see what’s going on around him. It’s not a quick or easy transition, but Kieran works through the challenges before him and is then able to appreciate and help others around him. Walker Books have just rereleased Other Brother, ‘Cannily Cannily’ and ‘Change the Locks’. All were published earlier and well received by readers, and recognised by the CBCA Awards. It’s fabulous to see all three books back in print. They have lost nothing of their impact and can now be enjoyed by new readers. Recommended for upper-primary readers.

Other Brother, Simon French
Walker Books Australia 2012
ISBN: 9781921720833

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Change the Locks by Simon French

Like clockwork, I kept waking.

There was a noise next to me that made me blink my eyes open for moments at a time and stare into the blackness. I knew what it was.

Whenever the baby’s breathing got out of time or the sheets in the cot next to my bed rustled too much, it woke me. Most times, I could dart out of bed and reach into the cot and pat his back until he calmed; rearrange his quilt before the restless breathing became a squealy cry. I knew that if I didn’t move myself quickly enough, there’d be a sudden glare of hallway lights and lots of trouble.

I held my breath and waited. The sheets rustled again

Like clockwork, I kept waking.

There was a noise next to me that made me blink my eyes open for moments at a time and stare into the blackness. I knew what it was.

Whenever the baby’s breathing got out of time or the sheets in the cot next to my bed rustled too much, it woke me. Most times, I could dart out of bed and reach into the cot and pat his back until he calmed; rearrange his quilt before the restless breathing became a squealy cry. I knew that if I didn’t move myself quickly enough, there’d be a sudden glare of hallway lights and lots of trouble.

I held my breath and waited. The sheets rustled again.

Don’t cry.

Steven, his mum and his baby brother, Dylan, live in a cottage some distance from a country town where he goes to school. He doesn’t know how they got there, or why the past is so foggy, but it is. It comes to him in incomprehensible snatches that seem to make no sense. In the present, his mum is struggling to cope and Steven is doing his best to make things right. Add to this the fear that things are going to get worse now the car has been stolen, and Steven is travelling with a lot of baggage. And he has the normal stuff of life to deal with. He is sure it would all be easier if he could just unlock the memories of before.

Steven has had to cope with much more than most kids. Occasionally he wishes things were different, that he had a different family, but mostly he just puts his head down and does what needs to be done to get by. Change the Locks was originally published in 1991 and now is republished by Walker Books. It has lost none of its relevance in that time. It paints a realistic and sympathetic portrait of a child, a family, who are all too often invisible. Steven tells his story in first person, and the reader can often see what he can not. Change the Locksis a moving story of survival from the perspective of nearly twelve-year-old boy. Simon French has a light touch with heavy material and ‘Change the Locks’ is compellingly readable. Recommended for upper-primary, early-secondary readers.

Change the Locks

Change the Locks, Simon French
Walker Books 2012
ISBN: 9781921720758

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

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