The Red Cardigan

Evie #1

by J.C. Burke

Evie sees things that other people don't. She's wary of the other kids at school, of what they might see in her drawings, or of what they would say if they knew she was different. Most of the time she blocks it all out and pretends she's just like everyone else.

But a missing girl is trying to tell Evie something. A girl who is very persistent, who will not give up until she is found. A girl who once wore the red cardigan Evie now wears. And Evie can no longer ignore the question that needs an answer...

Who is the girl in the red cardigan?

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Supernatural, Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2004

About the author

http:/www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Burke/20821...
.J.C Burke was born in Sydney in 1965, the fourth of five sisters. With writers for parents, she grew up in a world of noise, drama and books, but she decided to become a nurse after her mother lost a long battle with cancer. Since Burke started writing in 1999, she has published a number of acclaimed books for teenagers and young adults, including Children's Book Council Notable Books WHITE LIES and THE RED CARDIGAN, Aurealis Awards finalist NINE LETTERS LONG, THE STORY OF TOM BRENNAN, FAKING SWEET, STARFISH SISTERS and OCEAN PEARL. THE STORY OF TOM BRENNAN won the 2006 CBC Book of the Year - Older Readers and the 2006 Australian Family Therapists Award for Children's Literature. It is currently on the NSW HSC syllabus list.PIG BOY is Jane's newest title and was released in May 2011.
Jane lives on Sydney.

http:/www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Burke/20821...

Reviews

[Suz]

I love stumbling across books in unexpected ways. This author attended my daughter’s high school to talk with the senior students. I looked her up here on GR and one of her books were on my list. I ordered it and she signed it for me. ‘For Suzanne. Second hands clothes bring second hand woes x’. Rylee's friends were quite impressed she got a copy. 'How did you get one? I want one?!' Her mum is just crazy about books and has a TBR of 1400+!

I'm glad an Australian Woman Writer (one of my favourite author groups) is talking to young girls, maybe some of them will be the voice of the next generation?

This was a great read, one that would suit the age of my daughters. Evie has a special gift, and on discovering this she learns about herself in the hardest way imaginable. The voice of the era (written in 2004) was authentic and I smiled when J.C used a lot of sayings me and my girlfriends used a lot at the age of 16. Dag and dickhead reminded me of the good old days.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style, a down to earth style. I liked this one It’s a ‘good nervous’, full of butterflies and secret smiles. Letters written by Evie are authentic and true to the age of Evie’s character. This is where we see most of the self reflection. Think about it. A 16 year old girl does communicate that way very well, I know I did! If I was 25 years younger, this book would have rocked. Alas, as a mum of the intended audience, it was still really good. I will look out for more of A.J Burke’s work.

Funny thing I’ve never seen before – the dedication was written on the title page verso.

[Jülie ☼♄  · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sixteen year old Evie is struggling with her school assignments and personal popularity after a strange and unexplainable "episode" with a fellow Art student, leaves everyone talking...and Evie in an extremely shaken and vulnerable condition which sees her falling behind after having to take time off school as a result.
She is at a loss to explain her sudden and irrational outburst in the Art class that day and is now suffering, not only the persecution from the pupils and teachers at her school, but also other mental and physical effects.

Evie doesn't get on with her mother very well at the best of times, but since the event at school their relationship seems to be stretching to a new low, causing tension between her parents as Evie suddenly begins to manifest more unusual behavior.
The situation is made worse when Evie overhears her parents fighting about her, with her father trying to defend her unusual behavior.
If not for the loyalty of her good friend Alex, Evie would not know what to do.

What are Evie's parents keeping from her...and why?

This is such an intriguing and engrossing story which has a real authentic feel to it. I thoroughly enjoyed every page and found it quite unputdownable.
I would very much recommend this book to lovers of alternate possibilities and give it a well earned 5★s

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evie is special. She has a gift that she doesn't completely understand. Will she be able to deal with the ramifications and consequences of this? I thoroughly enjoyed this YA novel that was part thriller, part paranormal. It had been sitting on my daughter's bookshelf for years and the only reason I picked it up was that it fit comfortably into a challenge. I'm so glad I did. The story is riveting and so gripping that I got to a point where I couldn't put it down until I'd finished.

[tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Väldigt lätt bok att komma in i. Läste den för typ åtta år sedan men kom knappt ihåg någonting. Tyckte om att läsa om mysteriet och se hur allt var kopplat i slutet. Samtidigt tyckte jag att boken saknade något men jag vet inte riktigt vad. Hur som helst var det en spännande bok!

[Venus Hou · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Who is this girl in the red cardigan?"

This book is about a girl named Evie with "special gifts", that likes vintage clothes. Her dad has recently bought her a second hand red cardigan. However, ever since she received the cardigan things unexplainable starts to happen to her. Whenever she tries to draw a portrait of her friend Alex, it always turns out into a girl she has never met. The girl in her portrait tries to tell her things, and she's not willing to give up until she's found. The same girl that has worn her red cardigan.

One thing i really like about this book is how the author describes the busy police office when Evie and her dad was trying to figure out what has happened to the girl in the red cardigan. "The men huddle around whispering. A phone rings, muffled voices, the smell of coffee, doors opening and closing." I also like how the author builds up suspense as Evie is trying to figure out why are things happening to her, and who is trying to send her the message.

One thing i dislike about this book is the character, Evie's mom. I dislike it because even though she really wants her daughter to live a normal life she knows she couldn't. She couldn't really accept the fact that her daughter has those talents either. She also thought that protecting her from those "special gifts" will help her live a normal life, however it didn't help Evie because no one was there to guide Evie about it,

Overall i give this book 3 because not everyone likes psychological stories, and people who aren't interested may find it ridiculous. I'd recommend this book for people who are into psychological stories because it is the main theme of this story.

[Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in year 7 or 8, so back in 2005 or 2006. I absolutely loved it. After a few years I remembered the book, just not the title or author. So ever since then I have been trying to find it and failed until tonight. I could only remember the story outline and what the cover looked like. It was so frustrating not finding it, so I am over the moon right now. And I am so looking forward to reading this again and again.

[Katherine Wine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I find anything that surrounds the theme of psychics and what's beyond the grave to be quite an intriguing topic. This story was very fluent and the style in which it is written is very new to me but still quite readable.

[Melissa Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Medium' for teens. It gave me the heeby-jeebies when I was younger but it wasn't so bad the second time around.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so interesting that i couldn't put it down.

[What to read next ....... · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixteen year old Evie is struggling with her school assignments and personal popularity after a strange and unexplainable episode with a fellow art student leaves everyone talking and Evie in an extremely shaken and vulnerable condition which see her falling behind after having to take time off school as a result.

She is at loss to explain her sudden and irrational outburst in the arts class that day and is now suffering not only the persecution from the students and teachers at her school, but also other mental and physical effects.

Evie doesn't get on with her mother very well at the best of times, but since that event at school their relationship seems to be stretching to a new low, causing tension between her parents as Evie suddenly begins to manifest more unusual behaviour, if not for the loyalty of her good friend Alex , Evie would not know what to do.

What are Evie's parents keeping from her ...... and why ?????

This is such an intriguing and engrossing story which has a real authentic feel to it .
I thoroughly enjoyed every page and it was a hard book to put down .

I do recommend this book highly, such a huge surprise 😮
Fantastic Reading 📚

[Toni Umar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book that I hope my grand daughter enjoys as much as I did. Lots of mystery and a gentle gathering of information across the first half of the novel to understand Evie’s unique skill. A little scary in parts but necessary to understand the situation. The story line galloped in the second half with a well tied up ending. However I felt some of the storyline mentioned in the first half of the book led to know where. I wondered if this was an opening for a sequel - I hope so!

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the very first book I ever read (that wasn't a child's book) and its what started the years I have spent reading I fell in love with books that have mysteries and kind heroic heroines, although I enjoy romance novels and all things paranormal this was the one that started all the other books with great female MC's.

J. C. Burke your an amazing writer!

[Jose Puttanani · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not easy to write supernatural stories, particularly when children and young people are involved. J C Burke however has shown how to present the theme, without high drama or suspense, by narrating the life of a teenage girl, her family and friends, in the most simplest language that would put the reader in the middle of all the action.

[Isolde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, maybe a bit too old for it but still really liked it. Finished it in one day which usually means it doesn’t have boring sequences. I really enjoyed the build up in this book and how you didn’t get all the info at once!

[Lucy Clare · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. I made it to page 100 and it felt like nothing had happened. Might get better after that, but I don't have the patience to read past page 100 (which is just over halfway through the book) if it feels like nothing is going on

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really interesting and gripping, Evie was a really great character, she is like what a real person with powers would be like, a sort of outsider, but likes it that way.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally read this after 3 years when I accidentally read the 2nd book instead. Although Evie was annoying and the dialogue was cringe af, overall I liked this book.

[Alfonsiene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik zeg het niet vaak, maar dit boek had eigenlijk veel dikker moeten zijn. Nu leek het meer op een uitgesponnen kortverhaal, en dat kon precies toch beter. Verder best wel goed.

[Alyssa Shapland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eerie, but absolutely beautiful. I couldn't put it down. I'm now halfway through the sequel!

[Aj · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has a good plot and ideas but the main character gave me second hand embarrassment most of the time.

[Kyeong Jin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book called “The Red Cardigan” id written by J. C. Burke. This story is a series, it has the next part of the story in the book called “Nine Letter Long”. J. C. Burke was born in Sydney and she grew up in a world full of noise, drama and books. The different characters made her have a lot of idea to write the book. Actually she was not a writer at first, she was a nurse. She wanted to be a nurse because she has saw her mother dealing with cancer. In Sydney University, there was a creative writing course, and she joined there, and she has published some books with the company. “The Red Cardigan” is one of the books that she has published.

This book is about a girl called Evie, she can see the things that other people can’t see. Before she went to the school, she didn’t know that she was different with other people. She knows that she is weird. She can hear and see the things that she can’t stop them from entering to her mind. In the school the kids call her as “ The Freak”, “The Witch”. When her parents heard this they felted very doleful and unhappy. Because this also means that Evie is not close with the students in the school. Evie loves to talk with her father, and her father also loves to talk to her, but she couldn’t say the truth to his father. In art class, she keeps on drawing her classmate’s dead brother, and she couldn’t explain why she is drawing it.

I enjoyed reading this book, because it makes me think very creatively. I like those stories that are mysterious and scary. I think it is a great book, everyone could read it, especially who likes mysterious and horror genre books.

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was interesting, and I say that lightly. Without knowing it, Evie has spent most of her life with a 'gift', seeing dead people, communicating with people she has a link to without knowing. When she picks up a pencil, sometimes the dead faces come through, but it's only recently that she has connected that idea to her gift, because her mother is determined to protect her.

I liked how this was Australian, but not over the top. I liked the characters, and Evie's weird little habits like collecting vintage clothing and her love of drawing. I was actually a bit scared of the woman haunting her, and I wasn't sure where the story was going until it was all over.

A kind of Medium feel to it, The Red Cardigan is an enjoyable YA paranormal story. Another quick read, but I'd definitely read more by this author. J.C Burke has a way of building up the momentum in the story until you just have to know how it ends, and the suspense is a killer. Well worth a look, if you're considering reading.

[Charlene]

"Who is the girl in the red cardigan?" It all started when Evie's dad bought her a second hand red cardigan from a vintage store.Things got unusual and uncanny ever since she wore the jacket.She sees spiritual things that others don't,drawing a caricature of an unknown person,words escape from her mouth without her being able to control them.”Is someone trying to trying to her something?”

This book is a story of psychological.The details in the book were described vividly which created a spooky and spine-chilling atmosphere.The words were enthralling which makes you hunger for the resolution.

I would love to introduce to people who love suspense stories.This is a book that you would definitely enjoy.I give this book a 8 out of 10 as i do not like suspense story but this book was a great suspense story that i enjoyed.I would love to read the second book of the series which is nine letters long.

[Rhondda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A paranormal thriller that keeps you reading to the end.
People are wary of 16 year old Evie. Something happened previously that the students and teachers at her school and even her mother are afraid of. Evie herself doesn't fully understand what is happening to her. Evie however does start to realise that she has supernormal abilities and that they are part of her (and perhaps were also experienced by her grandmother). Evie's "gift" is that she can see someone else's life through their eyes when she comes into contact with their belongings. This is awkward as she loves vintage (secondhand clothing). This time there is a missing girl who once owned the red cardigan that Evie wears and she wants her message to "get out".
Evie's anxiety about her "gift' and her reactions to it, as well as the reality that she doesn't always understand the messages that are coming through to her, add a lot of tension to the story.

[Lore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty decent Paranormal book.
Sure it was written kind of wierdly, but it's good none the less.
Evie's awesome(hehe, just noticed, it's the same name as the herion of Paranormalcy. lol, must a thing with the names) and a great character, not the fantastabestestly(I just made that up) one, but good enough.
It was creepy and strange and ulimently differnt from Faking Sweet, anoth Burke book, but it was good.
So yeah go read it.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery novel. Evie sees things that other people don't. One day she receives a red cardigan bought by her father. After that Evie has dreams about a girl. A missing girl who is trying to tell Evie something, and she is very persistent to be found.

Finally, Evie can no longer ignore the question that needs an answer. Who is the girl who once wore the red cardigan Evie now wears.

Really like it!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this again after years of not reading it have shown that whilst I still enjoy the story, I'm very much aware in the simplistic writing. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, it's just that I don't remembering the font being quite so large, or the plot happening so quickly. I still enjoy it, just not as much.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a thrilling and exciting read. I liked how the reader got to see the story through the eyes of the protagonist (Evie) and gets to figure out the mystery as the story progresses.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uiteindelijk wel een redelijk goed boek. Maar het duurde een hele tijd voor er vaart in kwam en het irritante is dat de dader niet gevonden werd. Het lijkt een intro op nog meer, maar dat is het niet.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable YA page turner. A great thriller, that got me in and had me hooked. I found the story a little confusing at first, but very quickly became used to the writers style. I found The Red Cardigan to be a gripping story.