Piccadilly Press ISBN 9781848128538 £6.99
Cloudburst is the first in a planned series of books by Wilbur Smith using the same family of characters as in some of his adult books. The young star of the story, Jack Courtney, is taken to the Democratic Republic of Congo by his parents, as they are attending an environmental conference. Right from the very start, there are strange happenings and as a reader you get a great sense of unease about many of the characters – you really don’t know who to trust! Jack has a mixed relationship with his parents and a tough incident in the past keeps rearing its head. However, he has two strong friends to rely on: the brainbox Amelia and the calm and reflective Xander. After exploring the jungle, Jack finds his parents are missing, and the three friends face a torrent of disbelieving adults before deciding to take matters into their own hands in order to save them. The tension never really lets up throughout the rest of the story and there are some wonderful twists and turns. This book would be great for Year 6 or Key Stage 3. With the wonderful description of the DRC, this story could be used to compare life in Africa with another place, such as where your school is situated. I think a character study of Caleb would be fascinating, as he changes a lot throughout the whole story due to the experiences he goes through. Lots of PSHE could be taken from the story as a whole, as there are strong themes of a changing family, friendship and ultimately betrayal. Warning – there is loss of life (a father) mentioned in the story quite vividly, which could be upsetting for some readers.
Jamie Marshall