An enchanting book for children (Piper - Meg Harper)

Member Name: ps8sjk

Product:	Piper - Meg Harper
Date:	26/05/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast-paced and great characters

Disadvantages: More background

This is a very interesting children's book written by Meg Harper. She has written many children's books - probably the most famous are the 'My Mum and Other Horror Stories' - which are lighter books and really aimed at young girls.

'Piper' it is set in a futuristic world and is influenced by the story of the Pied Piper. It is a gritty,often dark novel so I would say it would be suitable for children aged 10 and over. It has mass appeal though and I think both boys and girls would enjoy this - and adults too.

Being an English teacher I run a school reading group and that means on occassion I am lucky enough to meet authors and met Meg recently. She read several extracts from her book and Piper seemed to be most suited to my tastes - I love trying new authors and I am always trying to find new books for my pupils to read to widen their horizons. This is great - original, well-written and has a fast pace so wouldn't hesitate to recommend this.

Piper tells the story of a society divided into two groups: the Cratz - the aristocrats who rule (although in a very sinister way) and the Citz who are forced to make a living in anyway they can to survive. The main character is Tanith, a Citz who is left orphaned after her grandmother dies, she travels to the nearest City and meets Crow who has a group of young children who depend on him for survival and protection from the Cratz. It often changes narrative perspective from the two main characters which keeps it interesting and allows you to see it from another pont of view.

Tanith is a strong female character - despite a disability she remains headstrong and determined to survive in a cruel world. She is very likable, as is her pet and compainion a wolfhound called Wulfie. Crow is also a very interesting character - he is charismatic, charming, intelligent and resourceful but seems to have secrets of his own.

The book has many twists and turns which keep you guessing to the end. It deals with many issues in a sensitive way and would encourage young children to discuss issues such as class, inequality, violence, disability, power and control. It is an interesting mix of genres - it starts off as a gritty novel - almost a dicsussion on social issues but the magic and fantasy of the novel takes over in time as the secrets are revealed.

My only criticism of this book is that I feel it didn't go into detail about why society became so divided. I found this fascinating and it left me very intrigued but I would have liked to have known the history behind this. However, this may have been because I was reading this as an adult and children may not be as bothered!

Overall, a wonderful book - great for something different for children and highly recommended. I am now hoping she will write a sequel.

Summary: Highly recommended