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There's More to Life
Ned has been sent to his Great Aunt Helen's cottage by the sea for the holidays. But nothing turns out as planned. For a start, there's no aunt, and when strange things start to happen, it's clear that Ned is no longer alone. A ghost, a girl on the run, and an old man hiding next door all have secrets, and all the while in the lonely coast outside the waves build to a terrible storm!
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
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7 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Billington
61 books14 followersRachel Billington has written twenty one novels and eleven books for children. She is also a journalist, feature writer and reviewer. She is a regular contributor and Associate Editor of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners and a Vice-President of English PEN. In 2012 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature.
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May 27, 2012
There’s More to Life
“There’s More to Life” by the British author Rachel Billington was published in 2006.
The book tells the story of a school boy called Ned. He goes to spend his holiday with his Great-Aunt Ellen, but nothing goes as planned. He arrives to the sight of his Great-Aunt being taken away on a stretcher. Ned makes the decision to stay on alone in her cottage and that’s when his adventures begin. In the middle of his first night a huge storm blows up and Ned hears sounds in the house. A ghost appears to comfort him. Her name is Mab and she relates her tragic life story to Ned. While Mab and Ned become friends something is not right in the house. Food is disappearing and Ned is being watched by the old man from next door. Ned captures the thief, who is a young shy girl called Danny. Danny is scared and has run away from home. Ned promises to keep her in hiding. She too has an amazing story to tell. How can all these different stories fit together? And how can Ned help?
One of my favorite scenes is when Mab first appears to Ned. A storm is raging and Ned wakes up hearing the windows banging and the sound of footsteps. He hears a voice saying “Shut the door. Quick! And I’ll shut the window.” He thinks it is a voice in his head but soon realizes that its a girl’s voice. However it is too dark to see her. They continue to chat even though Ned still has no idea she is a ghost. This scene is full of suspense, as neither the reader nor Ned knows that Mab is a ghost although the reader has some suspicions as the scene unfolds as a classic ghost story, with a storm, footsteps and a window banging. You can imagine Ned’s reactions as he is clearly very lonely and happy to hear another human’s voice and have some company.
Another scene I enjoyed is when Danny’s stepfather Phil comes looking for her at the cottage. He is drunk and threatening. Danny is out and Ned is all alone. As Phil shouts abuse and threats of violence, Ned looks around for a way to escape but then hears Phil inside the house. A wave of panic struck him, all seemed lost, but then Phil decides that the door has been deliberately left unlocked as a trap giving Ned the time to set up a stick to trip Phil and time to hide in a cupboard. Once again the author creates great suspense especially as the scene ends with Phil counting to ten before coming in. She sets the scene well using a combination of dialogue by Phil and the thoughts going through Ned’s head. In this way Phil is portrayed as a thug and Ned as a scared young boy. I also liked the touch of humor when Ned starts imagining Phil as the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk” and then asks himself why he has to remember nasty fairy stories at a moment like this.
I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the way the author set the story in England but in two different times, the past and the present. I think this gave the book an extra dimension. The book is complex as it combines the stories of three different characters’ lives in the past then it comes back to the present. From time to time Rachel Billington adds a touch of humor in a frustrating scene or moment to diffuse the tension and remind the reader that this is a story about a young boy. Ned faces many conflicts throughout the book, overcoming his fear to live on his own, meeting a ghost, trapping a violent drunk and protecting his new friend Danny. By the end of the book Ned has changed from a shy young boy to a confident, bold young man. These conflicts also change his friends, they all gain more confidence. For example Danny has the confidence to order Ned to tie Phil up and to talk to Phil as he talked to her. Since this is a book for children it is important that the main characters are all very interesting and likable. I would recommend this book for children from the ages of 11-13 years old.
“There’s More to Life” by the British author Rachel Billington was published in 2006.
The book tells the story of a school boy called Ned. He goes to spend his holiday with his Great-Aunt Ellen, but nothing goes as planned. He arrives to the sight of his Great-Aunt being taken away on a stretcher. Ned makes the decision to stay on alone in her cottage and that’s when his adventures begin. In the middle of his first night a huge storm blows up and Ned hears sounds in the house. A ghost appears to comfort him. Her name is Mab and she relates her tragic life story to Ned. While Mab and Ned become friends something is not right in the house. Food is disappearing and Ned is being watched by the old man from next door. Ned captures the thief, who is a young shy girl called Danny. Danny is scared and has run away from home. Ned promises to keep her in hiding. She too has an amazing story to tell. How can all these different stories fit together? And how can Ned help?
One of my favorite scenes is when Mab first appears to Ned. A storm is raging and Ned wakes up hearing the windows banging and the sound of footsteps. He hears a voice saying “Shut the door. Quick! And I’ll shut the window.” He thinks it is a voice in his head but soon realizes that its a girl’s voice. However it is too dark to see her. They continue to chat even though Ned still has no idea she is a ghost. This scene is full of suspense, as neither the reader nor Ned knows that Mab is a ghost although the reader has some suspicions as the scene unfolds as a classic ghost story, with a storm, footsteps and a window banging. You can imagine Ned’s reactions as he is clearly very lonely and happy to hear another human’s voice and have some company.
Another scene I enjoyed is when Danny’s stepfather Phil comes looking for her at the cottage. He is drunk and threatening. Danny is out and Ned is all alone. As Phil shouts abuse and threats of violence, Ned looks around for a way to escape but then hears Phil inside the house. A wave of panic struck him, all seemed lost, but then Phil decides that the door has been deliberately left unlocked as a trap giving Ned the time to set up a stick to trip Phil and time to hide in a cupboard. Once again the author creates great suspense especially as the scene ends with Phil counting to ten before coming in. She sets the scene well using a combination of dialogue by Phil and the thoughts going through Ned’s head. In this way Phil is portrayed as a thug and Ned as a scared young boy. I also liked the touch of humor when Ned starts imagining Phil as the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk” and then asks himself why he has to remember nasty fairy stories at a moment like this.
I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the way the author set the story in England but in two different times, the past and the present. I think this gave the book an extra dimension. The book is complex as it combines the stories of three different characters’ lives in the past then it comes back to the present. From time to time Rachel Billington adds a touch of humor in a frustrating scene or moment to diffuse the tension and remind the reader that this is a story about a young boy. Ned faces many conflicts throughout the book, overcoming his fear to live on his own, meeting a ghost, trapping a violent drunk and protecting his new friend Danny. By the end of the book Ned has changed from a shy young boy to a confident, bold young man. These conflicts also change his friends, they all gain more confidence. For example Danny has the confidence to order Ned to tie Phil up and to talk to Phil as he talked to her. Since this is a book for children it is important that the main characters are all very interesting and likable. I would recommend this book for children from the ages of 11-13 years old.
Displaying 1 of 1 review