The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff

Well, I guess you could say I’m a little bit excited! I’ve been on Bookstagram for a year now and I’ve just been accepted on to my first ever @tandemcollectiveuk readalong. I’ve been sent a book by @bloomsburypublishing and goodies from @cartwright_butler These biscuits are seriously divine!

Meg Rosoff is an auto-buy author for me. She’s been one of my favourites since I was a teenager and that is why I cannot wait to read this book. It has also been compared to Bonjour Tristesse which is a book that I adore.

*EDIT on 19/7* I’ve now finished the book and I am torn. I think this book is clever in many ways - especially its portrayal of gender and family relationships and mystery. However, there were some elements that I felt could have been drawn out further. I think I would have adored this book had it been longer. I wanted more! As it stands, I enjoyed reading the book and the process of stopping and answering the prompt cards and I hope to take part in a Tandem Readalong again soon.

The most interesting part of this book were the ideas about gender. The gender of the main character is never revealed, but this didn't matter. It was not about this, or was it entirely about this? Either way, it's a great way to show that gender doesn't have to be relevant if we don't want it to. It gets you thinking about gender roles and why we fancy the people we do. Is it all because of society norms? If we could, would we fancy anyone who appealed to us and not limit it to male or female depending on our own gender?

Read this book for that and for the summer holiday vibes.

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