Real danger for the Five (The Famous Five and the Hijackers - Claude Voilier)

Member Name: diamond_sparkles

Product:	The Famous Five and the Hijackers - Claude Voilier
Date:	18/09/09 (86 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quite an original and different plot

Disadvantages: Writing style largely differs from Enid Blyton

The Famous Five and the Hijackers must be, according to me, the most different Famous Five book ever penned. I would not rate this one as being among my favorite books in the series, precisely because of the fact that it differs from the other books, hence lacking in the spirit of the popular summer holidays with the Five. However, for those who love originality and a break from routine, this might just be the perfect book. The characters of George, Dick, Julian, Anne and even Timmy seem somehow more grown-up and mature than in the previous books.


The plot itself differs from the usual adventures: This time, the Five are flying over to Brazil with a group of teenagers for their holidays- without any form of adult supervision. Of course, the children are excited since it would be the first time that they spend their holidays so far away from home. For once, there are no talks of adventures or mystery-solving: Just pure, undiluted adventuring in Brazil. However, as expected, the Famous Five cannot elude adventures for too long and they soon find themselves held hostage on the plane with hijackers. Circumstances lead towards the hijackers landing to release everyone on board, except for the Five. When the plane crashes in the Virgin Amazon Forest however, chances for survival look extremely meek and faced with such a desperate situation, the hijackers and the Five have no other choice but join forces and work as a team. Will they make it out of this hopeless situation?


I personally think that this is the first book where the threat of real danger was constantly present all throughout the adventure. In other Famous Five books, the sense of danger was present but the tone was light and adventurous- hence making the reader sense that all will be right in the end. Call me silly, but that was the first Famous Five book where I was biting my nails in pure anticipation and horror. At times, I was quite sure that at leas part of the Five would not survive this out-of-the-ordinary adventure. There are some genuine scares in the book and the thematic features differ from the usual thieves, smugglers, and/or any other case for them to solve. Instead, they are faced with primal survival, tribal Indians and wild Forest predators.


Another major difference in this book is the very dark atmosphere that prevailed all throughout. At times, I was really wondering whether this was penned by Enid Blyton herself! I have never read any Blyton book that was so dark and intense before. Quick Google searches lead to me to realize that this book was in fact penned by Claude Voilier after Bylton's death. This author aparently continued the series in French. Sadly, the differences are quite striking and disconcerting. I would even go to the extent of saying that there is no real fun present in this book: No picnic basket, no rides in the countryside and not even their warm beds to sleep on. Such little details are completely clichéd, but they are also the little details that helped into making the Famous Five legendary. This must also be among the rare books where even George shows signs of being frightened and at one point, she even cries with fear and despair.


The writing style is as different as the unusual plot. The book includes some words which might be considered complicated or difficult for the real target audience (that is made up mostly of kids!). The sentences are also longer. In addition, Enid Blyton is famous for the way that she describes a certain scene or person with very few words- thus leaving some space of the imagination to work. In this book, however, the details are described very, very vividly with a lot of words and imagery.


I would still rate this book four stars because I cannot deny that once you get over the differences, it can be quite an enjoyable read. It may not be completely easy for the target audience to understand but Famous Five and the Hijackers can remain a very memorable read. I will not recommend this book to Enid Blyton fans who want the usual routine adventures like me. But if it is something new and different that you are looking for, then by all means, give this one a try.


The book is 138 pages (Knight Edition) and available on both ebay and amazon uk.


Thanks for reading!

Summary: The Five have been kidnapped by hijackers!!