Review: TWITCH by M. G. Leonard

 

Twitch by M.G. Leonard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can a birdwatcher outwit an escaped convict?

Twitch has three pet chickens, four pigeons, swallows nesting in his bedroom and a passion for birdwatching. On the first day of the summer holidays, he arrives at his secret hide to find police everywhere: a convicted robber has broken out of prison and is hiding in Aves Wood. Can Twitch use his talents for birdwatching to hunt for the dangerous prisoner and find the missing loot?

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Okay, so this has to be one of my favourite middle grade stories. I've been reading more of these recently as I've been writing MG too, and this is one of the books I used to for research--seeing how it's plotted, the level of 'threat' that a child MC can face, etc.

 
And I loved this story. The plot was impressively put together, tightly constructed, and entertaining to me as an adult. I could not work out who the 'bad guy' of the story was, and the twists were great. Characterisation was also superb.

This story also examines bullying and friendship, and I think it would be a good gift for a child who is experiencing trouble at school in these respects, or a child who thinks they don't quite fit in with everyone else.

 
There's also an impressive amount of bird knowledge in this book, and I learnt so much and could really feel Twitch's enthusiasm for birds.

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