Natashas Will

by Joan Lingard

Natasha's story is set against the background of the Russian Revolution as she and her family flee persecution. Her story is dramatically and cleverly linked with the present as her heirs search for her will. The will can only be found through a trail of literary clues from classic children's books.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Russia, Historical

167 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Joan Lingard was born in Edinburgh, in the Old Town, but grew up in Belfast where she lived until she was 18. She attended Strandtown Primary and then got a scholarship into Bloomfied Collegiate. She has three daughters and five grandchildren, and now lives in Edinburgh with her Canadian husband.

Lingard has written novels for both adults and children. She is probably most famous for the teenage-aimed Kevin and Sadie series, which have sold over one million copies and have been reprinted many times since.

Her first novel Liam's Daughter was an adult-orientated novel published in 1963. Her first children's novel was The Twelfth Day of July (the first of the five Kevin and Sadie books) in 1970.

Lingard received the prestigious West German award the "Buxtehuder Bulle" in 1986 for Across the Barricades. Tug of War has also received great success: shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 1989, The Federation of Children's Book Group Award 1989, runner up in the Lancashire Children's Book Club of the year 1990 and shortlisted for the Sheffield Book Award. In 1998, her book Tom and the Tree House won the Scottish Arts Council Children's Book Award. Her most recent novel, What to Do About Holly was released in August 2009.

Lingard was awarded an MBE in 1998 for services to children's literature.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really suprised us. Having picked it up at a jumble sale I read some reviews and it didn't have a good rating. Always worth giving books a try because we ended up really enjoying this one and will be looking for more by this author.

Natasha is from an aristocratic family in St Petersburg. When the revolution comes her family endures loss and hardship. This storyline alternates with one set in modern day with another family about to lose their home. The stories weave together and there is a mystery to solve with clues hidden in books. Each clue helped them work out the title of the next book to find. We enjoyed working these out and finding the connections between the characters.

I think this book hasn't gained high ratings because the writing is very straightforward and some details of the story may seem unlikely but if you suspend belief it is a really enjoyable story. The plot is good and we really enjoyed learning about the russian revolution from a childs perspective.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this young adult novel and how it intertwined stories of the past and present. The one thing that I felt could be improved upon was the ending which seemed rather abrupt.

[Daniel Cherrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Natasha's Will is one of the slowest moving, uninteresting, boring book I had ever read. The constant 'Sherlock brain' of the characters is very unlikely to happen in real life. The switching through eras is VERY confusing. Don't even get me started on where the will was actually hidden. In short this book was worse than the E.T video game, I would rather eat my own faeces than read this book again.

[Rachel VB · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was sitting on my shelf for, what, 7 years? I picked it up and oh really why did i do this to myself beats me.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book

[Sula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This light children's story is set during the Russian Revolution, from the perspective of a girl called Natasha. Each chapter this alternates with a short chapter set in the present day, following a family who have connections to Natasha. I enjoyed reading about Natasha's story, but felt the chapters set in the present day didn't really add much to the overall story. Not only did figuring out some of clues seemed quite lucky, I found it hard to believe a will would be hidden in such a way and turned into a sort of treasure hunt, especially if there could be issues with who inherits what. Natasha's storyline was strong enough to hold itself for this short book.

[Greek Coffee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I'm definitely not a young adult, this book was gifted to me by my youngest daughter for Christmas, so I read it in a sitting. Simply written, the story is interesting enough to get you to the end.

[RJC · Rating 2 out of 5]

An insight into the Russian revolution, a little simplistic in places.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick and easy read.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revolutions often result in many deaths, arrests and refugees. So it happens for Natasha's grandparents in the Russian Revolution. From a life of privileges they finally settle in Scotland staying with old friends. But what will happen to the home they came to see as their own when this friend dies? Will it be passed on to them (as promised) or go to a nephew who never cared for his aunt? The novel gives a great description of what it must of been like to live through this huge revolution and how life changed for so many people. Much of it is seen through young Natasha's eyes, making it so much more relevant to young people of today.

[Cate Archer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It is light reading not something I would choose to read again. It wasn't the kind of book where you can't possibly put it down. However it was a nice story and I didn't mind the changing of the timeline. But I have to agree with another reviewer who said the ending was abrupt. It came out of no where it felt as though the author ran out of time to create a believable ending. I couldn't deal with how they figured out the last clue, it was ridiculous and didn't fit with the tone of the book at all!

[Bec F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and enjoyable 167 page read. Really liked how it was equal parts of Natasha & Sonya's story & the consistent creative clues of Natasha's will. Natasha is an easily liked character and it's interesting to see how her life & living environment changes as a result of the Russian Revolution. Loved Lingard's description of St Petersburg, Estonia, Latvia, Paris & Scotland.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

its amazing

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a great book and I liked how it went from Natasha's story to Sonya's. I liked the story line of how it went and the treasure hunt.

[Tamlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly encapsulated the romantic notion that most young readers have of early Russia during the times of the Tsars.