THE JANUARY STARS BY KATE CONSTABLE

Twelve-year-old Clancy is a wary kind of kid. She’s frightened of talking to people and her fourteen-year-old sister Tash has set the bar high, sister-wise. She is also more than a little worried about starting high school at the end of the summer. It turns out however, that she may not have time to worry about those things so much as the summer is being turned upside down. Her uncle Mark has got himself arrested in New Zealand — his animal activism having landed on the wrong side of the law. Clancy’s mum and dad must go and sort it out. They take her younger brother Bruno but the two sisters must go and stay with their aunt Polly.

Clancy and Tash are asked to pay daily visits to their grandfather at The Elms, a nursing home he doesn’t enjoy at all. Pa is stuck in a wheel chair and has very limited speech after suffering a stroke a few years before.

On the very first day of their parents’ absence events stumble out of control and Clancy and Tash kidnap their Pa away from staff they believe are determined to make his life one big misery.

From this point on, the reader is taken on a exciting road trip. Clancy channels her dead Nan who she believes guides them on their journey. Tash takes charge as usual and while they struggle to look after themselves and their grandfather, Clancy is forced to make decisions and help out in situations she had always avoided. Clancy’s character is beautifully portrayed and as she overcomes her fears and realises she is stronger than she believed, she becomes the guiding voice of the family

Kate Constable paints a wonderful picture of a family that loves each other but has drifted off course. Their grandmother was the glue that held them together and now it’s up to all of them to figure out a new way to live.

For Ages: 9+ 13 years

Number of Pages: 288 in paperback form.

Published: March 2020

Themes: Family and resilience

Rating: 4/5