Scarlett

by Cathy Cassidy

Overview

Scarlett's in trouble at school. Again. With black fingernails and dyed ketchup-red hair, she's not your average twelve-year-old Londoner. So her mum—sick of trying to get her into another school—ships Scarlett to her father's cottage in Ireland. Having to learn Gaelic in a one-room schoolhouse and enduring a new stepmum and younger stepsister is just too much. Scarlett wants to leave—until she meets Kian. He seems too good to be true with his dark, rugged looks, kind nature, and horse named Midnight. As Kian helps Scarlett let go of her anger, she begins to accept her family, her friendships, and most of all, her dreams. A captivating new novel from a writer reviewers have called "a British import with a refreshingly light touch." —School Library Journal on Indigo Blue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440621314
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/19/2006
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	289 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Cathy Cassidy has been writing ever since she can remember. She went to art school in Liverpool, England, before getting a job as fiction editor at a British teen mag–where she loved every minute of it! Later, she got married and had a big party with fireworks and a chocolate wedding cake, before switching careers to become an art teacher. Several years and two children later, a friend talked Cathy into finishing a children's novel she'd started... and this is the result!

Cathy lives in south-west Scotland with her husband Liam, two children, three cats, two rabbits, and a skinny, hairy dog named Kelpie, who was the model for Leggit in Dizzy. She still teaches art two days a week and writes the problem page for a British teen magazine. You can find out more about Cathy by checking out her website and watch out for her next book, Indigo Blue.

Editorial Reviews

Rebellious Scarlett still has not gotten over her father's cheating and her parents' divorce. When she gets thrown out of yet another school, her mother sends her from London to the Irish countryside to live with her father, his pregnant wife and her stepmother's nine-year-old daughter. Scarlett begs her mother, "Don't make me do it," but in her new home, she finds space-both from her family and in the enchanting surroundings-to start letting go of her anger. She also makes a connection with a mysterious boy, Kian, whom she meets by the lough, riding bareback. Kian tells her about a wishing tree, where people "leave offerings, ask for favors." Cassidy (Indigo Blue) weaves in some lovely images, such as Scarlett's ripping up her old red clothes as ribbons to tie all over the wishing tree for her new baby sister. Readers will appreciate that her biological parents are flawed people. When Scarlett injures her stepsister trying to pierce her nose, her father yells, "What were you trying to do? Make her into-into-a freak? Like you?" The only jarring bit here is Scarlett's age; at 12, she seems young for the relationship she develops with Kian, which includes intense conversation and a night spent out by the lough. Readers will be captivated by the wise, wild Kian, though, who disappears when others are around; he adds to the magic that cloaks Scarlett's story. Ages 9-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 4-7-Since her parents' divorce two years ago, Scarlett Flynn has been kicked out of five schools. After she ignites a food "demonstration" in the cafeteria, her mother has had enough. With her pierced tongue, black fingernails, and dyed tomato-soup-red hair, the 12-year-old is unwillingly sent from London to live with her father and his new family in Ireland. Aghast at her new school and new home in rural Connemara, Scarlett is angry. Her outlet is the lough where she meets mysterious gypsy boy Kian and his horse, Midnight. He allows her to express herself and provides the escape and friendship she needs. Her nine-year-old stepsister also sneaks her way into Scarlett's heart, helping her to adjust. As she grows more penitent about her behavior, she makes the effort to change and becomes an important player in the family. Infused with a bit of fairy-tale magic, this is a fast-paced yet thoughtful story. The heroine is feisty and troublesome, yet quirky and lovable. Her feelings are justified, and readers will sympathize with her. The character develops tremendously as her anger ebbs and flows, transforming into sincere love and acceptance. Cassidy has written a poignant and strong story about love, forgiveness, and resilience.-Jennifer Cogan, Bucks County Free Library, Doylestown, PA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Twelve-year-old Scarlett has been expelled from school one time too many following her parents' divorce, so her mother sends her to live with her father, who she hates. He left her and her Mum in England while he ran off to Ireland to live with Claire and her nine-year-old daughter Holly. This fast-paced story follows Scarlett's difficult adjustment to her new surroundings and family (which will soon include a new baby) as she rebels in typical teenage fashion by piercing her tongue, dying her hair red and being an obstinate vegetarian. Set in the rural countryside of Kilimoor, near Lough Choill, which boasts the magical Wishing Tree, Scarlett soon meets Kian, a boy of her own age, and his horse Midnight. He's the only one she doesn't feel the need to battle with her anger and bitterness. Perhaps he also has his own demons? This blend of teen angst and the magical will most definitely appeal to middle-school girls. (Fiction. 11-15)

Kirkus Reviews