Driftwood

by Cathy Cassidy

Hannah and Joey have been best friends for ever. Joey's parents love rescuing things and making them beautiful – their house is full of things made from driftwood, old glass and shells from the beach. Which is why the scraggy kittens the girls find in a bin at school end up living there. And when Paul moves in as Joey's foster brother, everyone thinks that maybe he needs rescuing too. But nobody knows quite how badly. At first, it's great – Hannah's brother befriends Paul, and the four of them hang out together. But then things start to go wrong. Paul is being bullied. Subtly at first – but quickly it gets dangerous. People aren't like driftwood or abandoned kittens and Hannah doesn't know how to rescue him. Paul doesn't want to be rescued – but with help, he can find a way to save himself.

Genres: Childrens, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Middle Grade, Romance, Teen

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

I was born in 1962 in Coventry (scarily ancient, I know). I wrote my first picture book for my little brother when I was eight or nine. I loved making comics, too - pages and pages of picture stories, features and competitions.

I went to Art College in Liverpool, then got a job as fiction editor on the fab and legendary Jackie magazine.

I have worked as agony aunt on Shout magazine and also as an art teacher in the local primary & secondary schools, as well as as a freelance illustrator. These days, I am a full-time author.

I love my family, I love living in the middle of nowhere and I love my work. Of all my jobs, writing has to be the best - it's the perfect excuse to daydream, after all!

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Driftwood was a beautiful book full of drama, harsh reality and truth and I utterly adored every minute.

Driftwood is about a girl named Hannah (which was a bonus because thats my name) who goes to school with her best friend Joey. Hannah's brother, Kit, is head over heels for Joey and Joey is on a war with uniform and school rules. She's quirky and enjoys individuality. Although Joey enjoys demanding her head teacher around and being different, Joey is actually far different then just her looks. She was fostered by a beautiful couple called Jed and Eva who are creative and enjoy watching Joey float with her own individuality. So, when they announce their adopting a new child, Paul, Joey is obsessed with the idea. But all goes wrong when Joey and Kit end up together and Hannah is left seeing what her brother and his loser friends are doing to the new kid, Paul. They're bullying him. Hannah faces the reality of loving someone who may not love her back, watching her best friend fall in love with her bullying brother whilst watching her brother bully her own love for being different. Yet, when Hannah realises a big secret and the truth behind Paul, she falls even more so in love.

Cathy Cassidy has touched the truth on fostering so beautifully. She's able to portray how it can effect someone without writing it from the foster child's perspective. Cathy has also ensured that Hannah is not the main character here, and just uses her simply as a narrator which allows you to understand some feelings but having to create your own opinions and feelings too. She has also touched on mental health, self harm and depression as well as suicide in this book, but without making it harsh or bombarding you with too much information. It's subtle but it's real. And because it's not the main character who is suffering, you are more attached to the boy-next-door type, Paul, as you're not forced to feel his feelings, you can develop your own.

Although I love this book, there were a few points where I had found myself reading it over to make sure I read things properly. There are a lot of references to beach magic and fantasy, which isn't my cup of tea, so I often found myself just reading more into the metaphors in between. I think Cathy Cassidy has done an amazing job with her work here, and this book is a favourite! However - I would not recommend it to younger readers as the reference to self harm is quite clear and obviously can be worrying to them.

[Angela O'donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was recommended this book by a 10 year old, and I was quite surprised that she would be reading a book with such a sad issue underlying it. Cathy Cassidy is clever in the way she presents the characters and at the same time she is writing about bullying and depression. I think this book could be useful for Upper Key Stage Two, to introduce the topic of bullying and the consequences and effect that bullying can have on children. Each character in this story has a unique personality and the reader can see the bullying from the perspective of bully, bullier and witness to the bullying. I would recommend this book as I think the issues are cleverly dealt with without being too harsh for a younger reader, I think the older reader can understand the subtle messages.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delightful story an it gives advice about bullying as well and it shows that it's always important to tell someone. It is a heart gripping story about love, friendship and hate. My favourite character is Hannah because she never turns her back on anyone and is always there for Paul who has a rough time with the other boys because he is different. My least favourite character is Hannah's older brother kit because he bullys Paul who is Hannah's best friend Joey's foster brother and Joey is his girlfriend. Not for long. I think my favourite part is when Paul goes away to the island and doesn't tell anyone. My least favourite part is when Joey and kit goes to town ad stays there for hours and everyone is really worried. I recommend this book for people who like a trouble book.

[anaïs · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice reading but too "young mood" for me :)

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I first read this a decade ago when I was 10/11, and at the time it was my favourite book. I picked it up and reread it on a whim today and I never realised the impact it had on me. Not a positive impact, far from it. For a book aimed at kids it's horrific. The way being gay is treated as a problem, something to fear and be afraid of. Or the way it suggested keeping quiet about being bullied. Or the way it introduced the idea of self harm as a viable solution to feeling unhappy.

Was any of it intended? Probably not. But as an 11 year old that was being bullied and was deeply unhappy in themselves, it certainly gave me the idea that hurting myself was a valid way to cope. And it certainly helped reinforce the idea that being gay was something to be ashamed of and it left me all kinds of fucked up for years.

Rated yikes out of 10

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was much, much younger. Nevertheless, it deserves a lot of kudos. Being a childrens' book, it's still well written and approaches a lot of mature themes such as homophobia, individuality, self-harming, bullying and relationships. It wasn't beyond it's years, and it will be something I will hope my young children will read in the future. It's not a cookie-cutter story and I was really impressed had the depths it went to whilst still maintaining appeal to a much younger target audience. I didn't find it at all melodramatic with the story lighting up some serious teenage concerns and relatable issues. Definitely very well written. Bravo!

[klara ⋆｡°✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

rediscovering my favourite childhood author was all it took for me to realize that i am indeed still capable of finishing a book in one day

[erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

so happy to have the opportunity to read this thru an interlibrary loan!
i really enjoyed this middle grades to YA book, dealing with friendship and bullying. I love her characters and how there's always a slightly outrageous one, just like in real life!
my daughter is reading it now, perfect for her at age 12.

[Julia Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

about romance and family relationships. :D cathy cassidy books are addicting.

[Jackie Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nawwwwww

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Cathy Cassidy is a great writer, but I didn’t enjoy Driftwood as much as Ginger Snaps or Lucky Star. Driftwood features heavier topics than I expected, including suicide, self harm and bullying. Much of the book felt like helplessly observing Paul being bullied, with the behaviour predictably escalating as no action was taken to stop it. I can see that the book was aiming for an anti-bullying message, but it didn’t make for an enjoyable read.

The book reached “crisis point” and although it isn’t graphic, I still feel it would be quite intense and confronting for a young reader. That’s not to say these topics were necessarily mishandled, but as the book was published in 2005, I’m sure these issues would be handled with greater care if written today.

The resolution takes place in the final chapter and felt too brief for me after everything the characters had been through, leaving the ending feeling unsatisfying. I would have liked to see more focus on recovery and things getting better.

While it wasn’t an overly enjoyable read for me, I can appreciate what the book was trying to achieve.

[Chloë · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listen, I’m not the target audience for this book but I’m going back and re reading some childhood favourites and boy is this a dumpster fire.
This is definitely a sign of the times and I’m glad this didn’t influence me.
The word g*mp is used twice and everyone is really afraid that Paul is gay. They’re like no, he CANT be gay.
there’s a ton of bullying going on that people simply tell the victim to just ignore, and don’t even get me started on the self harm references and the literal s*ic*de attempt and then three pages later he’s fine.

[meghana. s]

I am back in my childhood home and found my old book collection and am rereading a ton of old favs. Cathy Cassidy’s whole thing is writing for pre teens about pre teens and honestly reading this back I feel made me realize that it’s super cool I had books like this out here for me to read.

This book handled depression and bullying for middle schoolers very very well. I loved it back then but now I appreciate the book for what it is more 🫶🏽

[keala · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok kit was an asshole so it made this hard to read also they rushed the ~recovery~ ending (aka suicidal attempt one page and then 5 pages later he’s back and recovered and it’s the end)
probably my least favourite cathy cassidy book, oh god the pre teen angst

[yalaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Georgie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as good as when I read it as a child ❣️

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I believe 'Driftwood' was one of the first Cathy Cassidy books I ever read. I must have been about ten at the time, and I remembered quite liking it, although I had no recollection of the actual story.

The book is set by the coast, in Scotland, and is told from the perspective of a girl named Hannah. Hannah is friends with Joey, a kooky wild-child, with stripy hair, mismatched socks and a passion for Good Charlotte. Hannah's older brother, Kit, has been crushing on Joey for as long as Hannah can remember, but, when Joey begins to return those feelings....well, things get a little awkward. And then, to complicate things even further, Joey's new foster brother, Paul, is added to the mix, bringing with him a trio of kittens, a zebra print bicycle, and a whole lot of beach magic. But, beneath the surface, Paul is inwardly drowning in his own problems. Is it possible to save a friend who's lost at sea?

Ok, despite my ten year old self thinking of this book as being quite good, my present-day self does not agree.

I didn't think much of any of the characters. Joey was still my favourite character, just as she was when I first read the novel. When I was ten, I thought Joey sounded like the coolest person ever, and I wanted to be just like her, and wear mini-kilts, and dye my hair green and pink. I didn't, of course. Now, when I read about her, she still seems exciting in comparison to the other characters, but it was glaringly apparent to me, that Cathy Cassidy had tried really hard to create a rebellious teen girl, somewhat of a badass, and it was too cliché to really be believable. Not only this, but she also attempted to make the book appealing by including what she clearly believes to be 'cool teenage lingo'. At one point, Hannah refers to Joey and Kit being on 'Planet Slush', and it's really a head-in-hands moment.

As for the other characters- well they did nothing for me. Kit was just a total idiot, there's no way around that fact. I just wanted to punch him, he was such a jerk. What was Joey THINKING, going out with him? Not that Paul was much better as a love interest. Ok, so firstly, there was next to no romance between him and Hannah, which was a bit of a letdown. Secondly, he was a bit...well, nothingy, I guess. His personality was zero- I wasn't exactly rooting for him. I mean, sure, I felt sorry for him, he went through a lot, but I was hardly there with pom-poms, jumping up and down, screaming 'Woo! Go Paul! You can do it! You can beat the bullies and get the girl! You go get your happily ever after!'

And as for Hannah...for a protagonist, she was really nothing special. I mean, like Paul, her personality was non-existent. Not once did she do something that made me gasp, made me sit up a little straighter.

I think the dull characters were really what made the book such a flop. Because of their utter boringness, the plot was also very boring. Well, I say 'plot'- there wasn't one, really. It was just a 192-page account of the goings-on of a group of teenage friends, which didn't make for a very good story. The ending was a disappointment too. I mean, it was just so predictable, and really, too perfect to be believable. Everything worked out just so, meaning that every character got exactly what they were looking for, and everyone lived happily ever after, and in reality, that just would not happen. Cathy Cassidy had all the loose ends tied up just a little too conveniently, for my liking.

Also, can we just talk about the age thing again? In the last couple of Cathy Cassidy books I've read, recently, the age misjudgement hasn't been too terrible, but in this...no, twelve year olds are not portrayed correctly here. Twelve year olds do not dress as Joey does- they're pretty new to Secondary School, and wouldn't dare, wouldn't even THINK of rebelling against the school uniform code in that way. It's just the way they are. Twelve year olds do not develop proper romantic feelings for one another, especially not with people older than them, as is the case with Joey and Kit.

I mean, to be honest, I disliked this book more than 'Sundae Girl', and that's saying something.
I'd rate this book....
2 out of 10 stars.

'Beach magic. Maybe it works after all'.- Hannah

[Antonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a personal project where I’m rereading my favourite books from when I was younger.

I didn’t realise how nostalgic this book was for me. It was a book and characters I could relate to at the time and it influenced my style that I still have now as a 20 year old.

It deals with dark topics in a really sophisticated way for a book targetted for early teens and younger and I’m only now appreciating it reading it through adult eyes.

[Ered · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, let me start by saying I’m not quite the target audience of this book. Also I tend to ramble and my points will be likely dumb and sidetracked.

Sure it’s made for girls my age (Or at least the time I read it, since this book recently came into my memory again inspiring me to write this) but that doesn’t mean every girl this age.
It’s a simple read, which isn’t a bad thing at all, and the story is very digestible. I don’t want to put myself on a pedestal but I’d like to think I’m on a higher reading level though. I say this because my school has a system to determine this, and in the library this book was labelled to be lower than my recommended level. Because of this I read this among other Cathy Cassidy books within a day.
Among that’s it very much seems to be targeted to people who read romance stories, and wish to experience the kind of relationships our protagonist (Hannah) went through with the love interest. While I have read books that can be interpreted as romance they’re not usually my style. So again, not the target audience.
And yet I still found myself enjoying this book quite a bit. I feel it was mostly because of the character of Paul that I did. I projected onto him often throughout the story. Although I can’t say we’re similar in very many ways I felt a connection to his character. I suppose that’s why I was upset he wasn’t gay.
I do get it, they had to have him like Hannah. That’s the story that girls my age look for. Yet as a young lesbian still discovering her sexuality at the time it was quite disappointing to see this character I had connected to and felt was kind of hinted at to be queer throughout the story simply be in love with our protagonist because that’s what sales of the story relied on.
I’m sure many people who read it loved their romance, I just wanted to share my experience is all. I loved the story regardless and the themes it touched on. I even like Kit, despite his nature. I almost wish he and Paul could have gotten along, but then we wouldn’t have gotten the story we did.

Anyways sorry for rambling on, I recently remembered this story and the connection I had felt to Paul, and decided to write my feelings on it here.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about complications, falling in love, not fitting in and losing a friend. Hannah's best friend, Joey, is falling for her brother, Kit. Joey also has a new foster-brother, and he complicates things in the family. Paul (foster brother), loves drawing, and he once drew Kit, which freaked him out a bit. The relationship is cracking-can Hannah save their relationship, even if they don't want to be saved? This book also has a lot of twists and turns, like Hannah falling in love with Paul...

This is my no.1 author, and I love her books! Driftwood is very likeable, and one of those books you have to read again and again. Also, this is an important message, some of Cathy's books can be good, but a little boring in the middle, but carry on, and trust me, your heart will be racing, just like mine does.

If you like THIS book, read others of Cathy's books:

Dizzy
Indigo Blue
Scarlett
Sundae Girl
Lucky Star
Ginger Snaps
Angel Cake
Cherry Crush (The Chocolate Box Girls)
Marshmallow Skye (The Chocolate Box Girls)

Also, other books of the Chocolate Box Girls are coming soon:

Summers Dream (out in June)
Coco Caramel (October-December)

I'm planning to ask for Summers Dream for my bday, and Coco Caramel for Cmas.

Faye xx

[antoanaxo · Rating 5 out of 5]

More like 4.5
I definitely liked it.It was a little hard to get into it because I was in a mourning period after Percy Jackson.From an epic adventure to a real world story.Basically, this book is about a girl called Hannah who has a very wierd friend called Joey.Joey's foster brother,Paul Slater,joins their school and Joey asks Hannah's bro Kit to look out for him.That is all I can say without spoiling you.If you are being bullied or feeling sad feel free to share.I think everyone should read this book.BTW the covers with the girls on them suck.It's not that I don't like the girls,they're pretty,but I do have imagination.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, i thought the book had a decent message and storyline. But the thing that makes this book 2 stars is that with this being a more middle grade book i expected it to not use words like ‘gimp’ but it was used a plethora of times. Also the target audience is of course the younger generation so why is ‘gay’ still being used as an insult through this book which never really gets addressed in the end.

[Lauren Pavlovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am re-reading a few of my old books including this one, and I think I definitely enjoyed this more when I was younger. The theme of bullying is obviously important but the plot was pretty simple and boring, and a few things that are talked about are out of date and feel weird to read in 2022 (although it is an old book so it's understandable). Overall it wasn't terrible and I'm sure I would be less critical about the ideas and quality of writing if I was younger ie. the target audience.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cathy Cassidy has writen a few books wich I have read. Driftwood is about two friends and the problems they go through when one of them gets a new foster brother. There is many complications in this book and a secret revealed at the very end when you least expect it. This story also unravels itself as it goes along. This book would be good if you like the style of Cathy Cassidy's witing.

[Seawood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Driftwood is one of those books you think you probably won't need for KS2 but should have on hand anyway. It's a great treatment of bullying which starts out subtly and evolves into something very series and would be a wonderful story to use in pastoral care. Cassidy is so good at writing characters you care about straight away and her books are so wise...she's like the Judy Blume of Y6-7.

[Zouzou Lovegood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je m'attendais pas du tout à ça en lisant ce livre mais il est génial et très touchant et triste. Des fois on a envie de frapper, de pleurer, d'insulter... bref on passe par toute les émotions donc c'est réussi

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just found these in a box and I'm re-reading them because even though they're for younger people I still love them!

[celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

iconic

[Maisha Zahir · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is 3.5 to be exact.
This book contains an example of bullying and the effects it has on the person being bullied. It also describes the problems that trail along with it. Good story. :)

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. It's still amazing and I'm maybe biased but still. ❤