Glass Dreams (edit title/settings)

‘Glass Dreams’ is a book of fiction suitable for readers from 7 – 12 and consists of approximately 23 500 words. It is a mystery where many twisting threads must be untangled.

It is set at the circus where Khala is harbouring runaway, Jake, having met him in a ramshackle caravan in the woods where she herself takes occasional refuge.

Jake’s grandmother and sole carer, Grandma Mo, has died, leaving a mysterious box in his possession with a warning not to unlock it. Indeed, she gives no clue to the whereabouts of the key, leaving its discovery to fate. Jake discovers the key and takes this and the box with him to his temporary foster home of the gentle John and Lily Tindell and then onto the awful care home from which he absconds. The box contains a crystal ball in which he sees strange visions, all of which become clear over the course of time. How his grandma came by it is a mystery to him.

Khala is a circus performer from a circus family and persuades Jake to join. Like her, he has a natural talent for riding. The circus is not as glamorous as he imagines, however. He witnesses maltreatment of child performers and steers clear of cruel ringmaster, Gino. He is taken under the wing of Cedric, an Irish tricycle-riding dwarf, who performs with his beloved Chihuahua, Audrey, as well as taking the role of assistant to Hans, the knife-thrower. Jake moves into their caravan with Cedric and Audrey. Cedric has aspirations of his own to become a knife-thrower and tries to persuade Jake to become his assistant, even though his aim is atrocious.

It becomes clear that Khala has something on her mind and that Cedric knows about it. Khala reveals to Jake that not only is Gino forcing the children to use their skills to commit robberies, but he is her father and his Romany blood enables him to lay curses. Her mother is Madame Zara, the troubled fortune teller.

When Jake discovers that Khala has been forced to rob the Tindells, he knows he has to act and, using Audrey, he hatches a plan to get Gino out of his caravan so he can search it. He finds that Gino is a fraud. He has no ‘Romany blood’ and has a prison record. Jake and Khala find his stash of stolen goods in the old caravan in the woods.

As they are having tea with George, an old friend of Khala’s, Gino bursts in on his own robbery, but is foiled by Cedric who has been spotted on several occasions mysteriously leaving the circus. In conclusion, we discover Cedric's secret, Jake and Khala make a discovery and there is a surprise in store for the Tindells.

5* Reviews:
I read this book to find out if it was suitable for my 10 year old daughter and to be honest I couldn't put it down! It's a brilliant story and so well written - my daughter will also love it I'm sure.

Excellent opening to the story. This author does not patronize her young readers by using language that it too simple thereby stretching their imagination. The story moves along well and keeps up the excitement. I was particularly taken by the descriptions of some of the events. For example the laying of the "Dirty" trail, in the caravan by the dog was very well done. Another good feature is the use of just a few important characters in the story thus allowing it to move along without too many red herrings. In all an exciting read.