This is a collection of five short stories about Annabel, a thirteen-year-old school girl, and her friends.

There is nothing to complain about in the presentation of this ebook. The cover is done in Quentin-Blake-style illustration, which is what originally caught my eye. Well-laid out and nicely presented, there are no typos or formatting issues that leap out. It even stays clear when the font changes to illustrate letters sent and received.

There’s a thriving traditional of english school novels about children and their friends, from Mallory Towers to Trebizon to Hogwarts. The Annabel stories by Alan Davidson are similar. Originally released in 1983, this ebook edition is released by Straw Hat ebooks who are bringing many of the older school stories back into e-vailability.

The stories themselves are light, relaxing and amusing. It is children’s fiction so older readers won’t find it challenging, but the situations are just believable enough to ring true, and hold the attention of younger readers. Annabel is an easy character to identify with – we all know someone like her – which makes it very easy to get into the stories.

Good for children and easy to read, 8-13’s (and certain older readers) should enjoy it.