Strings by Christopher Galvin – Book Review
Strings by Christopher Galvin – Book Review
Strings
Author – Christopher Galvin
Pages – 106
Released – 12th July 2018
ISBN-13 – 978-1717744623
Format – ebook, paperback
Reviewer – Stacey
Rating – 4 stars
I received a free copy of this book
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Mary Scully is a kind, clever and loving 12 year old girl. She’s also lonely with no friends. That is until her imaginary friend, Mr Socks, appears to brighten up her day. But something else out there hears the sadness in her voice, and decides the best course of action to take is to make Mary a permanent resident of Puppet Town. Whether she likes it or not!
Full of humour, excitement, action, and fantasy, ‘Strings’ is sure to capture the imagination of the young and old alike. If you loved ‘Labyrinth’ or ‘Coraline’, ‘Strings’ is the story for you!
Twelve-Year-Old Mary Scully lives in Cotton Lane with her parents Anthony and Barry. She attends the local school. She is good at her school work but is also lonely too, no-one sits with her or plays with her.
One day whilst she is in her bedroom she hears a voice. Looking around she soon notices that it is her right-hand talking. She makes a sock puppet and places it on her hand and soon Mr. Sock comes to life. She is happy with her new friend and her parents embrace that she is happier too. That is until the school bully Abigail Hodges sees Mr. Sock and makes fun of her and tells her she will tell everyone.
Both Mary and Mr. Sock are now sad. Soon more voices are heard, this time it is Mr. Con and Mrs. Old. They are puppets on a stage and invite Mary to join them. However, they are not very nice puppets and Mary and Mr. Sock (who has now become a puppet with arms and legs too) are trapped in Puppet Town. They only have 24 hours to get home or they are stuck forever.
Strings is a lovely children’s book that deals with bullying, loneliness and building friendships. Mary is a lovely sweet little girl and Mr. Sock is a very wise sock. I adored the storyline and love the idea of a puppet world where all the puppets come to life – I’m sure that those suffering from Pupaphobia (fear of puppets – I know a few people who have this fear), might not like this book too much though!
If I have one critique it would be that in the copy I have (I presume it is the same for the purchased copy) there are no pictures. I am a big fan of pictures in children’s books and believe that even black and white sketch illustrations help a child to connect with the story, giving them a better reading experience. The importance of illustrations is to highlight what the words read and give them context. With the cover as beautiful and colourful as it is, I expected lots of colour throughout too.
Reviewed by Stacey
Purchase online from:
Amazon.co.uk – Amazon.com
About the Author
Christopher Galvin (1981-still going!) was born in Croghan, County Offaly. He has a background in TV and Film, a BA Hons Degree in Video and he works as a short film director, writer and editor. His latest short film ‘Stuck’ has had a successful run on the film festival circuit.
Christopher loves writing and while ‘Strings’ is his first published novel, it is not the first one he’s written. He is busy editing ‘Arthur Smallwood’s Quest For Magic’ right now. Since writing ‘Strings’ Chris has had the ‘I’ve got no strings’ song from Pinocchio stuck in his head. And now, you do too.
