wyvernfriend (Ireland) (2007/01/05):
Although this isn't very balanced in it's treatment of christians (the main christian in the story is shown as very intolerant) and the pagans are shown to be the tolerant people it does somewhat reflect the reflexive treatment of pagans by some people. Though a group of pagans are the same as a group of any other people, good and bad.Marco is sent to stay with his hippie grandparents in Glastonbury while his mother is off in the US working, and while his parents are seperating. His mother had fallen out with her parents years ago and Marco had never met them. It turns out that Woolly, his grandfather, was a dowser, and when Marco tries he finds that this is something he can do. Parallel to this story Rosa has moved to Glastonbury with her father, an ex-police man turned priest whose inflexible attitude is being used as an anti-dote to the wooly thinking in the area. It turns out that all that's standing between a group of dodgy businessmen creating a interpretive centre and shopping site are these alternative people, and some of the motives are very dodgy. The characterisation is quite black and white, people are one thing or another. Only the pagans/unusual people are interested in keeping the village the way it is and not enough of the ordinary people get involved. It's an interesting YA read but if you start examining it, things fall apart.
|
