Carroll’s book is a riveting adventure set against the backdrop of the Cold War. Taking place during the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, the story unfolds in a quiet part of England. As fears over a nuclear war between Russia and the US mount, Stevie stumbles across a dead body in her garden shed – the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to her!
The plot and story for this book came from an innovative competition, the Big Idea Competition which has been running for the last few years and is open to all entrants aged 13 – 103!
It’s the summer of 1914 in England, and Fran’s digging in the potato patch when she unearths – and cracks – a white bone. Her feeling of uneasiness grows when, minutes later, Leo from nearby Longbarrow House breaks his leg. These strange coincidences mount up as Fran and Leo begin to search for a burial site hidden somewhere on the Longbarrow grounds.
Strange Star is a story within a story, told by two narrators, a serving boy and a girl who arrives to the house in which he serves one stormy night. The premise is that Mary Godwin was inspired to write Frankenstein by the unusual adventures that befell a young girl, struck by lightning, who travels across Europe against the odds to reunite with her sister and recount her tale.
