'Hetty Feather' by Jacqueline Wilson - Georgina Solly 7BY

Recently I have been reading the amazing Hetty Feather by the award winning author: Jacqueline Wilson. It is unlike any other book I have ever read. This heart-breaking story shows you what life was like in the 19^th century: things you didn't even dream about; things you never thought people would do; but yet, it feels like you were there, watching it all happen before your very eyes due to Jacqueline’s amazing skill with words. It is written in the 1^st person and is told by the main character- Hetty Feather.

In the first section it introduces Hetty Feather when she was just a tiny little baby. She is tragically parted from her birth mother and sent to the Foundling Hospital. She gets cared for there (even though it was totally the opposite of caring in my opinion) and then, when she is only a few weeks old, she gets sent to a foster home along with another foundling, a boy named Gideon Smeed.

She meets lots of new people including her foster parents, brothers and sisters. Her foster parents treat her really well but she especially loves Jem, her 10 year-old foster brother. He loves her like she was his real blood sister and teaches her lots of skills she would need later on in life. He was so patient and played her childish games without a protest and also took her to a circus to watch and meet, who she later on thought, was her birth mother. I would've longed for a brother like that if I did not know what was going to happen next.

Unfortunately, as Hetty grew into a feisty 5 year-old, she got closer and closer to going back to the hospital because she still belonged to the hospital.

When the time came she was heartbroken! How does she cope there? Is she treated well? What is like? Well, you’ll just have to read it to find out!

I would definitely recommend this book to readers aged 9+ although my mum read this book and she thoroughly enjoyed. I would give this amazing tale of love, loss and cruelty 10 out of 10 no question about it! What I did not mention is that it is the first book of a trilogy so if you really enjoyed the book look out for the 2^nd Sapphire Battersea and the 3^rd book Emerald Star that has just come out! I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.