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Between
Olly lives with his Mum. When he is grounded and unable to go to soccer camp he keeps running into Mad Martha who wanders the streets with her shopping trolley. He is forbidden to speak with her. Who is she, and what aren't they telling him?
- GenresYoung Adult
237 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 12, 2019
As a young adult novel, BETWEEN, is a little firecracker of a story, mostly because Olly is a wonderful character. Grounded, a lot, in the relationship between the slightly naughty Olly, who is constantly drawn to Mad Martha, despite the blanket family ban on contact, the other side of that is the sort of mildly exasperated, slightly amused / confused manner of mums the world over. That he's forbidden to speak to Mad Martha is, exactly as you'd expect, a red rag to a gentle, kindly little bull, who knows his family is a bit fractured, that his father died before he was even born, and his aunt is a tattletale, but he loves his Mum, everything about soccer (football), and likes spending time with his mates. It's just that he has less than zero impulse control - in a good way.
For people looking for crime fiction styled novels, this is much more of a family mystery, and even then it's considerably more on the what nobody is saying side, than tricky to nut out side. It is, however, an extremely engaging book and would have been tremendous fun to read although exactly what age group is somebody more qualified's call. Olly's a great kid and the slightly naughty side seemed to fit with those of a younger persuasion, although the mild paranormal / spooky stuff might have some people leaning towards the slightly older age group. I remember as a kid there was absolutely nothing in this world better than naughty kids or ghost stories, but that was a very long time ago, and parenting seems to have changed a lot since then. From this reader's perspective, BETWEEN is exactly the sort of good-natured, adventuring, slow build, slightly spooky / paranormal style, with a slightly naughty kid from a loving and concerned family (including mildly nutty members) story that was enormously entertaining.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
For people looking for crime fiction styled novels, this is much more of a family mystery, and even then it's considerably more on the what nobody is saying side, than tricky to nut out side. It is, however, an extremely engaging book and would have been tremendous fun to read although exactly what age group is somebody more qualified's call. Olly's a great kid and the slightly naughty side seemed to fit with those of a younger persuasion, although the mild paranormal / spooky stuff might have some people leaning towards the slightly older age group. I remember as a kid there was absolutely nothing in this world better than naughty kids or ghost stories, but that was a very long time ago, and parenting seems to have changed a lot since then. From this reader's perspective, BETWEEN is exactly the sort of good-natured, adventuring, slow build, slightly spooky / paranormal style, with a slightly naughty kid from a loving and concerned family (including mildly nutty members) story that was enormously entertaining.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
July 17, 2018
This is a mystery, family relationship book with a paranormal touch about 12 -13 year olds so it is best suited to Intermediate readers. It held my interest but didn't wow me. It is well written and good to have a copy in a school library.
October 24, 2018
I really enjoyed this book! Family secrets, drama at school, and a dash of the supernatural/mystical! What's not to love? One I will definitely recommend to the younger male readers (about ages 10 - 15ish?). Another great book by Adele!
October 16, 2018
Once I got stuck into this book I couldn’t put it down, regardless of the time of day. The characters and their relationships were very realistic and it was just the right amount of ‘spooky’ for kids. While it wasn’t non-stop action the tension built steadily and kept me turning those pages until late into the night. Highly recommended, especially for football-loving boys.
October 6, 2018
Reviewed by my eleven year old son:
"Between is a story about Olly, who likes playing soccer and paranormal things. He meets an old woman named Martha, who is a pyschic with secrets...
This book is a great mystery novel, and whenever Olly got told off for talking with the mysterious 'mad Martha' - I thought I was getting told off too! "
"Between is a story about Olly, who likes playing soccer and paranormal things. He meets an old woman named Martha, who is a pyschic with secrets...
This book is a great mystery novel, and whenever Olly got told off for talking with the mysterious 'mad Martha' - I thought I was getting told off too! "
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June 27, 2018Olly lives with his Mum. When he is grounded and unable to go to soccer camp he keeps running into Mad Martha who wanders the streets with her shopping trolley. He is forbidden to speak with her. Who is she, and what aren't they telling him?
July 1, 2018
12 year old Olly is football-mad... see the full review at - http://www.stephenbarker.co.nz/what-i...
August 23, 2018
Great ending
July 15, 2023
Just finished this teen read by local author Adele Broadbent.
A typical great story by Adele. Very relatable characters, a lot of secrets and mystery, all the usual tween drama, friendships, peer pressure, school, bullying and a crush or two in there for good measure.
This story features a small town looney “mad Martha”. Someone the local kids mock and torment. She’s the local psychic who knows more about Oliver than Oliver himself.
Olly’s interest in ghosts, ghouls and mystical creatures draws him to mad Martha although he is forbidden to go anywhere near her, but for no apparent reason, his mother refuses to elaborate on why.
A great tween read about friendships, family, forgiveness and acceptance.
I’d recommended this for all tween/teens. Support Adele and if you buy this from Wardini books in Napier she will autograph it for you (after lockdown of course).
A typical great story by Adele. Very relatable characters, a lot of secrets and mystery, all the usual tween drama, friendships, peer pressure, school, bullying and a crush or two in there for good measure.
This story features a small town looney “mad Martha”. Someone the local kids mock and torment. She’s the local psychic who knows more about Oliver than Oliver himself.
Olly’s interest in ghosts, ghouls and mystical creatures draws him to mad Martha although he is forbidden to go anywhere near her, but for no apparent reason, his mother refuses to elaborate on why.
A great tween read about friendships, family, forgiveness and acceptance.
I’d recommended this for all tween/teens. Support Adele and if you buy this from Wardini books in Napier she will autograph it for you (after lockdown of course).
May 4, 2022
An aspect of Between that made me interested is the result of being pressured too far. The uncle had told the bully, Regan, "If you do not win this soccer tournament then you will be punished". The result of this pressure is him bullying others due to his insecurities. Here, the author is demonstrating why you should never push anyone too hard, as it causes people to feel stressed and potentially harm others. In the real world, this is a big reason for bullying as pressure from parents can lead to stress and anxiety and potentially having the eager to put people down.
December 25, 2020
Loved this book! Wanting to see what happened between Olly and Martha kept me quickly turning the pages. A great story with all storylines finished off nicely and nothing too predictable. I’m looking forward to sharing this one with my students next year.
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November 26, 2023Definitely pitched at intermediate-aged students. It's a story about secrets, misunderstandings, grudges, high expectations, taunting, and the importance of listening. It's more about camp, crushes, dares and a mad woman than football and paranormal activity.
June 2, 2019
I really enjoyed even though it was a bit about soccer/football which I'm not really into.
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April 21, 2019Love the library interactions woven into the story
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews