Jacqueline Hyde

by Robert Swindells, Kate Byers (Narrator)

Jacqueline Hyde has always been a good girl. But from the moment she finds the little glass bottle in Grandma's attic, her life changes. Suddenly she's in with the roughest gang at school. It's fun at first. Exciting. Until Jacqueline Bad gets into serious trouble. But the bad side just won't let go. 9-11 yrs.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Fiction

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Robert Swindells was born in Bradford in 1939, the eldest of five children. He left the local Secondary Modern School at fifteen to work as a copy holder on the local newspaper. At seventeen he enlisted in the RAF and served for three years, two in Germany. On being discharged he worked as a clerk, engineer and printer until 1969 when he entered college to train as a teacher having obtained five 'O' levels at night-school. His first book 'When Darkness Comes' was written as a college thesis and published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1972. In 1980 he gave up teaching to write full time. He likes travelling and visits many schools each year, talking and reading stories to children. He is the secutatry of his local Peace Movement group. Brother in the Land is his first book for Oxford University Press. He is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in Bradford.

Author description taken from Brother in the Land.

Reviews

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found that this book was a very interesting, yet exciting thriller with plenty of plot twists to keep the reader going. It opens with a young 11-year-old girl searching through her grandmother's attic, when she find a vial filled with a mysterious liquid with a scent that that tempts her towards it.

From here, it all just spiralled out into one big mystery, and I couln't put the book down. However, it was written for a slightly younger audience, but this made it an easier read, as I thnk that if it had been much more complex, it wouldn't have been as enjoyable.

Overall, I give this book 4 stars as I really enjoyed it for its creepy, slightly frightning, thriller aspect.

[Kiana Norris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think papa norris would love this book alot. I would recomend to anyone who hates themself

[Sara Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lettura per ragazzi davvero piacevole, iniziata e terminata in una sola serata, mi ha dato la gradevolissima sensazione di tornare bambina. La storia si basa sul celebre romanzo di Stevenson, anche se diversa; ma per chi come me ha già letto "Lo strano caso del Dottor Jekyll e del signor Hyde" troverà il tutto ancora più interessante, dato che spesso ci sono dei riferimenti al libro. La protagonista è una simpatica bambina undicenne, con un singolare conflitto interiore, e risulta quasi impossibile non affezionarcisi un po'. Da un libro per ragazzi si ci potrebbe aspettare un evolversi della storia scontato con un finale alla vissero tutti felici e contenti come è consueto, ma invece sono rimasta stupita nel constare che non è così, la storia riserba molte sorprese e anche il finale è particolare. Inoltre lo stile di scrittura risulta adatto ai bambini ma abbastanza esaustivo da poter catturare lettori di tutte le età. E non mancano scenette divertenti che strappano più di un sorriso. Peccato solo che sia un libro ormai fuori commercio.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tredici anni, Soobie scriveva:

Bel libro. Jacqueline trova, nella soffitta della nonna, una strana bottiglietta. Dandoci uno sniffo diventa Jacqueline il diavolo che farà tutti i dispetti del mondo. Nessuno crede alla sua trasformazione, solo la sua nonna, facendo delle indagini, scopre che in quella casa viveva un dottore morto avvelenato e il suo cognome era l'anagramma di Jekill come nel libro di Robert Louis Stevenson Lo strano caso del Dr. Jekyll e Mr. Hyde e altri racconti dell'orrore.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it as I was reading but I wasn't overly keen on the ending. Overall though I liked the pace and style of the book but it wasn't my best read of 2015.

[Desna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and slightly creepy read for 10 up. AUdio version