Leaving Poppy by Kate Cann

Lucy Bairstow writes:

Leaving Poppy is about  Amber and her half-sister Poppy. Poppy is fragile, prone to wild fears and periods of depression. Because of this Amber is always left to take care of her. Finally Amber decides that she has had enough, and tells her mum that she is going on a well-deserved holiday in Cornwall with a friend.

Little does her mum know that Amber has actually arranged to take a gap year and will be remaining in Cornwall. As time passes she is faced with the task of revealing to her mum that she is not intending to come home. But she falls ill and is taken into hospital. Her friends call her mum and Poppy; Amber’s plan is revealed and Poppy moves into one of the attics of the house. Then strange things begin to happen...

Leaving Poppy is well written from Amber’s point of view and it is definitely effective. I felt that it was really interesting and gripping - I didn’t want to put it down! It had an interesting story-line and was definitely worth reading

Both boys and girls genders would find it just as interesting. I would also recommend it to older readers due to emotional, scary bits and mild bad language. Younger readers also may find it challenging to read.

I would give Leaving Poppy eight out of ten for the plot because I enjoyed it but felt that the ending was a bit disappointing. However the actual writing of the book was very good and I would definitely give it nine out of ten; for
page-turning qualities ten out of ten.

Also I felt that as the chapters were so short you felt that you were reading more at a time. Every time a chapter finished something new would be happening and you couldn’t wait to start reading on!

Aoife O’Neill comments:
I would recommend it to girls, who are keen readers, above the age of 12. I would say this book probably is not for boys however and girls will enjoy it more if they have an interest in ghosts.

I like Leaving Poppy because it starts so realistically and you can see straight inside Amber’s head and how Poppy has affected her thinking.  I’d give this book a seven out of ten for plot, an eight out of ten for writing and a seven out of ten for page-turning qualities.

Leaving Poppy by Kate Cann  is published by Scholastic, if you would like to order a copy from Amazon please click the link below:

Leaving Poppy