HIS ANME WAS WALTER BY EMILY RODDA
His Name was Walter was shortlisted for the 2019 CBCA Book of the Year and is a fantastic thriller. It’s a story within a story and the clues given solve a mystery that has lain unsolved for more than half a century.
We follow a small group of stranded students and their teacher into the countryside and an old abandoned house. Really, who could ask for anything more?
Our modern-day cast includes Colin, a country kid forced to move to the city. Tara a frail and sensitive girl who can see things others can’t. Grace, the school extrovert and Lucas a silent observer whose chilly personality helps rack up the tension. Their teacher, Mrs Fiori, is naturally annoyed with being left beside the road and her patience is at an all-time low.
They are forced to take refuge in a creepy, abandoned tumble down house and the tension mounts when they find a hand-illustrated and written fairy tale hidden in a secret drawer of a desk.
Naturally they start to read it and throughout the night the evil presence in the house tries to scare them away. Colin and Tara are drawn to the story and so continue to read it while the others are asleep. They are joined by Lucas who seems strangely unaffected by the atmosphere in the house. Grace is woken by nightmares and comes to the kitchen for company. As the story unfolds, the house and the evil spirit rebel and terrifyingly shake and twist the house. Mrs Fiori wakes and is persuaded to finish the story for them.
The group realise that the fairy tale is hinting at true events. But how will they prove it and who will believe them?
Emily Rodda has created a riddle within a story which will keep readers turning the pages until they too, find the truth. The students, overcoming their fear and believing in themselves, push through and uncover what happened to a young man who disappeared so long ago.
For Ages: 9+ years
Number of Pages: 288 in hardback form.
Published: July 2018
Themes: Courage, friends and perseverance.
Rating: 4/5
I Wish: I could paint like Sparrow.