• click here to return to the homepage •
or 
Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Opal Plumstead review
Opal Plumstead might be plain, but she has always been fiercely intelligent. Yet her scholarship and dreams of university are snatched away when her father is sent to prison, and fourteen-year-old Opal must start work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory to support her family.
Opal struggles to get along with the other workers, who think her snobby and stuck-up. But Opal idolises Mrs Roberts, the factory's beautiful, dignified owner, who introduces Opal to the legendary Mrs Pankhurst and her fellow Suffragettes. And when Opal meets Morgan - Mrs Roberts' handsome son, and the heir to Fairy Glen - she believes she has found her soulmate. But the First World War is about to begin, and will change Opal's life for ever.
The brilliantly gripping new story from the bestselling, award-winning Jacqueline Wilson.
The Karazan Quartet : 1 : The Serpents of Arakesh
Snow Blind
The Mirage Makers 3: Song of the Shiver Barrens
Wolves of the Beyond - Lone Wolf
The Avengers
Cadbury Simply Chocolate
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates
The Last Thirteen #11 - 3
Pippa Morgan's Diary: Love and Chicken Nuggets
1 - 2 - 3 Bird!
Coming Home
The Stolen Stars of Matariki
The Invisible SentenceProduct reviews...
Review by: sweetpea (Sarah)
Dated: 2nd of November, 2014
This is Jacqueline Wilsons 100th book I think and Miss Eight would declare it to be her best!
Having read many of her other books Miss Eight has asked if she could have more Opal Plumstead books please as this is the best book ever and she would love to read more. Opal is awesome apparently!
This book is aimed at about the age 9-12 year old age group and is a chapter book with 30 chapters and an illustration at the beginning of each chapter. My Miss Eight is reading at about a ten year old level so I hoped that this book due to its length of 520 pages would take her awhile to read. She read this most nights and it took her two and a half weeks so I was pleased with that and that made it definitely good value for the price in terms of words per dollar spent!
Told in the first person this is the story of Opal who is very bright and has grand plans for her future but when the going gets tough for her family is forced to abandon her dreams of further schooling and work in a sweet factory. Without spelling it out this book is set in England during the eve of world war one . Opal learns the ways of the working girl and experiences her first love. I like that this book is written so appropriately for the younger reader but is still true to the way things would have been during the time period. This book reminded me a little of Anne of Green Gables in that Opal is so identifiable that you finish the last page and just want to get to the next book. I hope another is coming as I and my Miss Eight would love to find out what else happens in Opals life.
A fantastic book that I can definitely recommend to keep a young reader engrossed for several weeks. My Miss Eight is so proud that she has read a book with so many chapters and pages. It has really boosted her confidence and it is nice to see her becoming more aware of the types of books that she likes to read now.
Random listing from 'Books'...
"You never stop feeling scared. But you have to remember what you're doing it for. We have to win this war."
It's 1944 and London is under attack. After her mother is killed by a bomb, 17-year old Violet is desperate to do her bit for the war effort. She leaps at the chance to join the Special Operations Executive and is give a new undercover identity: Celine. Dropped into France to help the Resistance, Celine finds ... more...
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks."
Doug Larson
