The Dartmoor Bookworm

For three days I moved this book between the coffee table and my bedside table. I didn't open it or read it, I just kept moving it, downstairs then upstairs and back. The thing is, when you read a good book you never know whether the next book will be as good, and if it's not then there's always the disappointment, the loss and the grief you feel. I didn't want to read this in case it wasn't as good as Can you See me? the book I read previously. When I did start to read it, it was at night in bed. I told myself that I'd just read the first couple of chapters. At just after midnight and seventy odd pages in, I had to stop and go to sleep, but even then I didn't want to put it down, I needed to know what happened, who each character was and how they were linked. To say this story gripped me is an understatement. I read the whole book in three nights. The story is based around a large (very large) house in Chelsea, that is owned by Henry and Martina and

Some books grip you, others don't. Some take me for ever to read and some I can plough through in a couple of evenings. This book I put in my amazon wish list and I published it on the Acts of Kindness UK group on Facebook, if you haven't seen it go and have a look, there's lots of loveliness out there in a world of such uncertainty at the moment. I received it in the post from someone I know (but not very well) and it was lovely to receive it. The story is written from the perspective of Tally (Natalia) an 11 year old with Autism who is about to start secondary school. It includes diary entries written by Libby Scott who is also autistic and sheds a real light into what it is like living with the condition. The story goes through the every day life of an autistic child, the things they face, the emotions and anxiety that goes through their heads constantly. This is put across as Tally' experiences, that no one likes her, that she's different from everyone e