Just So Stories

Bloomsbury Australia

October 2024

ISBN	9781526648013
Imprint	Bloomsbury Children’s Books

RRP: $15.99

I have been a fan of Lesley Parr’s writing since the very first I reviewed, and this new one is another fabulous read. I ate it up over this past weekend, thoroughly immersed in Marcus’ troubled life in his Welsh valley in the 1980s.

Marcus is a Pritchard, and in Pentre, that means no good. His father and uncle refer to their life of crime as the ‘family business’. Marcus’ big brother Carl is in a borstal, after a bungled attempt to finally win some approval from their hard and seemingly callous father. His other older brother, Gavin, is the golden boy of the family and firmly set on the same track as his dad.

Marcus is looked down upon by everyone in the village, his best friend and he have had a falling out and he misses Carl, who was his only buffer between his parents’ indifference and Gavin’s pyschopathic cruelty. The only joy in his life is music, especially that of The Jam, and his acoustic guitar. He’s stealthily saving up for an electric guitar, so he can become the next Paul Weller.

Then Marcus finds himself gradually making two very unexpected new friends. Mick, the old man down the road, is not like everyone else in the village. He senses the good in Marcus and starts to teach him useful skills and shows him kindness – something his own parents fail to do.

And, against all odds, he finds himself developing a friendship with Emma, a relative newcomer to the school, and a fully committed pacifist as well as a card-carrying member of the CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament).

Marcus is struggling against the force of his father and the family business and trying to carve himself an identity that is completely outside all that his family represents, but it’s hard. And it gets even harder when the CND’s carnival float is sabotaged, and the engine of their lorry explodes badly injuring Mick.

Marcus looks like he’s going to be accused of the crime but he and Emma are intent on uncovering the real culprit. It’s only when the falling out with his friend, Jezza, is mended that the trio can really get into the nitty-gritty of who is trying to frame Marcus and have him sent to borstal as well.

This is one tense ride as the reader is completely onside with Marcus, revolted by his horrible parents and violent thug brother, Gavin, and hoping with real passion that he will make it ‘out’ unscathed.

Thank goodness for his new friends, and for Carl getting an early release. We can finish the book with the hope that Marcus will be able to withstand the pressure from his bullying father and indifferent mother and, ultimately, escape their taint, as well as Gavin.

From the first page to the last it has the reader completely engrossed. And the apparent ease with which the author brings the 1980s in this small Welsh town to life, with the accompanying background of music, the Cold War and everyday doings in the valley is really impressive. The backdrop of the threat of nuclear war and all that it entails e.g. the contamination of everything, is certainly an effective analogy for the toxicity of Marcus’ family. It’s another fantastic narrative from this classy writer and I truly would be talking this one up with any readers from around Year 5/6 up to easily Year 8 or 9. Totally a 5 ☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️ rating for this one as it blasts its way onto your shelves.