Bookwitch

I’m not much of a dog person, but Cathy Cassidy has created the most lovable dog in Lucky Star. A dog that gets found by Cat and Mouse, who are not animals, but a girl and a boy living near each other in London, although worlds apart.

Cathy has done what so many readers like, and revisited a character from one of her earlier books. This time Mouse gets a book to himself, and it’s also interesting to see as girly an author as Cathy write a book about a boy. The book cover is suitably black, rather than the usual pinks, so hopefully Cathy will gain some male readers with Lucky Star.

Mouse, like his dog, is very lovable, but prone to doing the wrong things, like adorning his school with graffiti. This story covers drug dealers and violence and threatening behaviour on the estate where Mouse and his mum live. But it also shows how people can band together and resist what might seem inevitable.

Lucky Star is a really heartwarming book. I just hope Puffin haven’t shot themselves in the foot by making it a hardback, costing £3 more than the paperbacks. It feels like a pocket money kind of book, so there’s a risk some readers can’t afford it. But it does look good.