Inspiring Young Readers
Feather Boy by Nicky Singer
Nicky Singer has written four novels for adults, two books of non-fiction but most of her recent work is for young people. Her first children’s novel, Feather Boy, won the Blue Peter ‘Book of the Year’ Award in 2002. It was then adapted for TV and commissioned by the National Theatre as a musical.
Robert is the class victim, the guy who’s never picked for the team. So, no one is more surprised than Robert himself when a strange, old lady sends him on a request to solve the mystery of the derelict Chance House. Legend has it that a boy once fell to his death from an upper window. But what has this past event got to do with Robert’s future? To get the truth, Robert must learn what it really means to fly.
This book is jam-packed with mysteries and adventures, where secrets are soon unravelled. Robert is shown to be a brave boy who you can’t help but to root for, who is seen as the chosen one to fulfil the old lady’s request. But why was Robert chosen? How will this impact or benefit him in the future? Would it even benefit him? As I read this book, more and more questions were popping up and I was soon anxious that I would run out of pages to read before getting the answers I cleared needed.
I feel that Nicky Singer wrote this book to make people feel adventurous and to encourage them to imagine what flying would feel like. Personally, I think it would make your stomach jolt as you swoop down, worried you might crash into something or… someone. Nicky’s purpose may also be to persuade readers to believe that we can accomplish anything, as long as we don’t give up.
Yushra Fatima
April 2020