After Iris

Praise

“Bluebell Gadsby is the kind of heroine who brings to mind Cassandra Mortmain in ‘I Capture the Castle’ or Harriet the Spy…” — The New York Times

“At once funny and painful and tumultuous, with a deus-ex-machina ending that will make readers want to cheer.” — The Wall Street Journal

“A realistic slice of life that bubbles with wit and charm.” — School Library Journal

“The grand finale…is one of the best Christmas scenes ever.” — The Horn Book

“[Natasha Farrant] balances Blue’s growth with wry humor and light moments…Blue’s struggles are handled with honesty, and she makes a rewarding journey from observing her life to living it again and accepting what she has lost.” — Publishers Weekly

“Natasha Farrant gives a full, engaging portrait of a complicated family through the eyes of Blue Gadsby, surviving twin and aspiring filmmaker.” — Newsday

“Bluebell is poignantly marked out as the observer in a crowd of actors…readers who enjoy quirky family stories may want to follow the Gadsbys’ journey to reconciliation.” — BCCB

“They used to be a unit: Flora, twins Bluebell and Iris, Twig, and Jasmine. But now Iris is dead, and the family is falling apart. Dad spends most of his time in Warwick—perhaps writing, perhaps having an affair (possibly both, of course). Mum jets around for her new job. The kids are being watched by male au pair Zoran. And Blue, almost 13, is watching from behind her video camera, trying not to get involved with life when it can hurt you so badly. But life has a way of drawing in even the reluctant. When wild, sweet Joss moves next door, he captures her heart, only to break it after becoming involved with Flora. Still, there is skateboarding to be learned and friendships to be reignited—and a family to be repaired, but that’s a more complicated process. Farrant offers a story that is a mix of madcap fun and heartfelt emotion. The characters, adults and children, are flat-out wonderful, fully realized, and unique. The movie “scripts” that frame some of the chapters can distract, but the narrative quickly returns to Blue’s voice, which captures events better than video.” — Booklist