My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I keep coming across books which make me convinced that British children’s literature is experiencing a little bit of a golden age right now. Hi So Much, the second in the Darcy Burdock series, helped confirm that feeling. Vivid with voice and full of a sort of spikey vibrant texture, it’s a gorgeous book and also one that I think may translate well to being read out loud due to the aural loveliness of it. You can’t help but ‘hear’ it as you read, the voice is so strong in this one (apologies for the slight Yoda-ism, but I hope you get what I mean).
So who is Darcy Burdock? She’s a very lovely creation and in this book, she’s about to go to Big School. Now we all know Big School is terrifying, right? I remember being told by my brother that all new first years got thrown into the pond so obviously I was terrified from the moment I sidled in through the doorway and the realisation that this didn’t actually happen, was both a relief and a slight let-down. Darcy’s first days at Big School are full of an intense terror and wonder as she tried to figure out what’s going to happen to her best friend-ship with Will and what’s going to happen to herself?
It’s so vivid this one and I think those who are fans of the Alice-Miranda at School books may find a similar sort of joy in Darcy.
Daisy May Johnson 