Twitch - M.G. Leonard

 

Twitch, as his name suggests, is a keen bird watcher, which doesn't make him overly popular at school.  In fact, he counts his pet pigeons and chickens as his friends, and plans to spend his summer holidays at his makeshift hide in Aves Wood, spotting kingfishers and other local birds. His plans don't start well though when he finds Jack and a group of boys from school threatening to kill a pigeon. Unable to walk past, Twitch steps in but suffers the consequences and is about to be force-fed a worm when Billy steps in. A burly man who has come from nowhere, he rescues Twitch and the pair get talking about bird watching - what luck that Billy also likes to watch birds and just happens to be looking for somewhere quiet to stay. The following day, Twitch heads to Aves Woods but his bird-watching plans are scuppered as Robber Ryan has escaped from prison and is reportedly hiding out in the woods.  Consequently, the police are swarming all over the place, scaring off the birds. Far from being scared off, Twitch decides that his bird-watching skills could be useful in more ways than one in helping the police to catch Ryan, but will he be successful and who are the girls he keeps seeing?

This is a wonderful book for so many reasons: it's written by M.G. Leonard and I've loved all of her books so far (in fact O wrote a review for Beetle Boy that appeared in the window of Watertsones Newcastle for a month so we have a real soft spot for all Maya's books!); it has a main character that you are going to just love and the ending ... oh, just wait till you get to the ending!!!  It's Enid Blyton meets Bugsy Malone and you'll not want it to finish!!!

Twitch (Corvus Featerstone), as a main character, is somebody you are going to warm to! His love of birds is his passion and he isn't afraid to be himself. Despite being bullied, he won't walk away when the bullies are in trouble; he is trusting and just seems to want to see the best in people; but above all else, he cares about people and animals. He's the sort of person you want to get to know and you'll be sad to say goodbye to at the end of the book.

As well as a celebration of nature, this book is a wonderful adventure that will keep you guessing as to what is behind characters' actions - are people hiding things?  Is that little voice at the back of Twitch's head right? And what on earth will happen in the end?  The book will leave you wondering but I have to say that the ending is truly superb! You'll want to jump into the pages and join in!

From a teacher's point of view, I can see this book being a wonderful class reader: be it simply as a book to read for pleasure to your class, or one to use as a basis of a unit of work - there are so many possibilities and I found myself thinking about different writing opportunities and discussion points right the way through.

UPDATE: Since writing this blog in March, Twitch has become quite the talked about book in school!  The proof copy has been read by a few of my book group and feedback meant that my class chose it as their current book I read to them for pleasure.  When they heard I was taking part in this blog tour, they were very keen to give their opinions and many of them decided to pretend they were writing a quote for the front of the book!  Here's what they had to say:

'Twitch is an exciting book filled with mountains of surprises.'

'Twitch is a different book with an amazing storyline.  If you like birds, mysteries and laughs, this is the book for you.'

'I like all the different birds in Twitch.'

'I love this book!  It's full of nature, action and love, showing how people can get along, no matter what.'

'I like how, in the book, it doesn't go straight to the action and provides a bit of backstory.'

'I like Twitch because the storyline is very creative and it comes with a strong meaning.'

'Twitch is inspiring people to help life and save the animals.'

'I love how you can try and figure out who Robber Ryan is without reaching the end.'

'I like Twitch because the author gives each bird a personality and also puts in a bit of mystery with Robber Ryan being on the loose.'

'I love the tension in this book.'

'I really like the book Twitch because it is very adventurous and is just a really good book.'

'I am enjoying Twitch because of the suspense of the girls, Robber Ryan and the 5 million pounds.'

'I enjoy Twitch because it's an adventure with a twist of mystery.'

'Twitch is filled with excitement and bird facts and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in birds and adventure!'

'I am enjoying this book because they are making friends and looking for 5 million pounds.'

'I am really enjoying this books as it is quite suspenseful.' 

And finally, from me, their teacher: 'In short, this is another master-piece from the wonder that is MG Leonard.'