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Blazing Star ISBN: 9780749746254
Markham, Lynne
Published by Egmont, 2002
Geoffrey finds himself in a tough inner-city Nottingham school, and he's a fish out of water. He is into astronomy and classical music and ballroom dancing with his gran, and, wouldn't you know, he wears glasses too. He lives with gran because his parents have been killed in a plane crash on a trip to Africa - only Geoffrey can't admit this. He believes they have left him, and his aching loss becomes more and more apparent as the story develops. In his loneliness, he begins to see visions connected with stars, and in these visions, he meets a native American, Long Horn, a boy like himself with whom he shares adventures. Long Horn calls Geoffrey Magic Eyes and believes that he brings him strength and bravery. Geoffrey is all too aware that it is the other way around. Gradually, we see that Geoffrey and Long Horn (or Blazing Star as he becomes) are one and the same, and gradually, too, Geoffrey finds the courage to cope with his tough schoolmates and to admit to gran that his parents are dead. This is a tremendous book, full of pain and grief and courage. Ballroom dancing gran is warmly loving and understanding, and Geoffrey learns to be himself, while at the same time becoming more like an ordinary teenager. Superb.
Age: 10+