Road Closed

Mark cunningly lulls the reader into believing Road Closed is just a simple story of a street party when it is a mysterious story of the unexplained. Connie’s Gran’s road has been closed for a street party to which all the residents are invited. Connie is nervous, initially, as she doesn’t really know anyone. Gran says getting to know people and making new friends is what the party is all about. Connie soon starts to have a good time and she makes friends with two girls, Edie and Joan, whom she’s never seen before and whom strangely, after the party, she won’t see in the same light again. It turns out that Edie and Joan are the childhood apparitions of two elderly residents of the street. Mark explores the theme of friendship in a fresh and original way. Young readers will enjoy realizing that elderly people were once children who liked to play, even though certain attitudes were different in times gone by. Jan Mark died earlier this year. This is a charming book from an author who will be sadly missed. AK