Alison Allbright has always sought refuge in day dreams – of having a glamorous mother and a lovely home, of being an exciting person, of doing all the things that the others at high school do – and more. When Mrs Considine appears, spinning her amazing web of fantasy and making those dreams come true, Alison is completely bewitched….until she discovers the catch.
First publication in e-book of Alan Davidson’s modern classic.
“What a lovely novel…. Simply a joy to read….a wonderful gift for a child ten or above” — Ionia Martin [Amazon Top 500 Reviewer]
‘An irresistible combination of dream indulgence and unsettling nightmare’ – CHICAGO CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
‘A starkly surreal world. The strange story of Alison’s transformation will linger long in the readers’ mind’ – PUBLISHERS’ WEEKLY
ALAN DAVIDSON’s other MG/YA suspense novels now available in Kindle include MARINA IN A GREEN DRESS and QUEEN RIDER. Also available are some of his notable humor titles such as A FRIEND LIKE ANNABEL and ESCAPE FROM COLD DITCH.
"A great teen and YA thriller, and a brilliant exploration of the psychology of abduction."
Reviewer: Reader for Bookangel.
Alison Allbright hates her life. With no phone, no transport, cut off from the social life of the class, she is lonely and isolated. So when a wealthy lady offers her a chance at a new life as her daughter, Alison jumps at the chance - only to learn that her new life might cost her actual life.
Written in 1979, this story is just as relevant today. In the world of mobiles and facebook today's teens might even sympathise more with the girl with no phone and no car, and her resulting isolation from her peers who take these things for granted. The wish for someone to swing in and whisk you away into a life of glamour and excitement is a common teen fantasy and the lure is easily understandable.
Alison Allbright herself is an outstanding character - vulnerable and insecure with a veneer of pride and desperate hopes for the future. She can be unlikeable and certainly treats her classmates badly, but seeing the story through her eyes it is easy to understand why she acts as she does. Her character grows over the course of the story. The plot moves swiftly and is easily engrossing, even for readers like me who are rather older than the target agegroup.
There a rather convenient off-screen death towards the end, which I honestly suspected was more likely to be suicide than the accident the story claims, but it doesn’t make it any weaker.
Rating 4: A great teen and YA thriller, and a brilliant exploration of the psychology of abduction. Rating:4
