Sam Hendry is not looking forward to starting at her new school. Things go from bad to worse as the day of truth arrives and all of her fears come true... and then some.When Sam meets a different group of people who immediately accept her as a friend, she begins to feel more positive.
With her new friends and interests, will Sam finally feel able to face the bully who taunts her, and to summon up the courage to perform on stage?
New Beginnings was a very quick and heartwarming read. It deals with issues that everybody has suffered in their life and was a nice departure from the really deep and emotional books that I tend to read a lot of.
I had a few issues with the writing in this book and that was that the writing seemed very stilted, with a lot of information given that wasn't necessary and the dialogue seemed very formal for the characters ages. I also couldn't believe that in today's day and age, Sam had never really been on a computer at 11 years old.
The story was so heart warming - Sam has moved to a new school and has been picked as a target for the schools bully which causes a big knock to her confidence, the story I one about battling bullying, which is a very relevant issue, but it never sounds preachy, it's well integrated into the story. I enjoyed reading about Sam regaining her confidence and her journey and I found her so easy to relate to, as she seemed so much like a younger version of myself.
There are pop culture references to things like High School Musical and JLS as well as stage musicals, which make this book relavant and modern.
Overall, New Beginnings was heartwarming and sweet, the story and characters were nice but the writing failed to grab me. A nice time-killer to read by the fire in the cold months.
Overall Rating: C+
Book to be released January 23rd 2012 by Grimoire Books
Book recieved from the publisher for review.
Thank you for the review. I do appreciate you taking the time to read and review my book.
ReplyDeleteOh I find it exceptionally hard to believe an 11yr old hasn't been on a computer a lot considering my stepson (who's 11) rarely comes off his! This one sounds interesting... I might pick it up if it's around...
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