Olivia's Winter Wonderland

Stage School #5

by Lyn Gardner

It's winter at the Swan Academy, and that means panto! While Olivia practises being the back end of a horse, everyone else is auditioning for a major new movie. Soon the school is full of rivalry and suspicion, nasty tricks and strange mysteries. To lighten the mood, Eel organises a festive ice-skating trip. But as the skaters twirl and leap among the twinkling lights, Olivia realises that the season of goodwill is anything but.

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2012

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Lyn Gardner is the author of Olivia’s First Term and the other Olivia books. She was born in London and now lives near Richmond Park with her partner and two daughters. A theatre critic for The Guardian, she goes to the theatre five or six nights a week, which should leave no time for writing books at all. Before she became a journalist, Lyn was a tea lady, a waitress and sold advertising space for a magazine called Sludge. Her ambitions are to learn to tap dance and walk the high wire, but it may have to be the low wire as she is a bit scared of heights!

Reviews

[Felicity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed quick read after a busy week and this exceeded my expectations.

Olivia Marvell isn't ambitious yet about her acting and decides not to go for this part that all of the girls want. She wants to work on her high wire skills and just to be the back end of the panto horse. But who will get the part and will Katie Wilkes-Cox copes with being back at The Swan?

I just loved this book and read it in one day. The blurb was incredibly vague but I was gripped after the first few pages. Gardner creates spooky moments, plenty of drama and discusses the struggles and realities of being an artist. What she says about auditions and needing that bit of luck rang true. She also tackles jealousy, poverty and depression and yet there is hope which is why I sometimes prefer reading children's books.

One of the best in the series. A briliant read with lots of themes that are good for children to think about.

[Alex Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, plus the second book in this series, is amongst my favourite children’s books of all time. Gardner tackles some very difficult topics with grace and brilliance, all whilst keeping the lovely world of The Swan consistent and engaging. A joy to reread, adult or not.

[Nicole Finlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was what reminded me of how much loved this series when l was younger. Brought back all those lovely feelings again.