Kept in the Dark

by Nina Bawden

Slight tear to rear board. Content is clean. Good DJ Ex Library with stamps/labels, etc

Genres: Childrens, Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Nina Bawden was a popular British novelist and children's writer. Her mother was a teacher and her father a marine.

When World War II broke out she spent the school holidays at a farm in Shropshire along with her mother and her brothers, but lived in Aberdare, Wales, during term time.
Bawden attended Somerville College, Oxford, where she gained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Her novels include Carrie's War, Peppermint Pig, and The Witch's Daughter.

A number of her works have been dramatised by BBC Children's television, and many have been translated into various languages. In 2002 she was badly injured in the Potters Bar rail crash, and her husband Austen Kark was killed.

Bawden passed away at her home in London on 22 August 2012.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

When their father, falls ill with debilitating depression, and their mother needs to leave town to be with him, Noel , Clara and Bosie move in with their strange grandparents whom they have never met before.
This is a hard enough adaptation, but real difficulties arise when their mysterious cousin,David, their grandfather's grandchild from a previous marriage comes to stay.

David is clearly a sociopath, and after briefly befriending Clara and Bosie, keeps the whole family as virtual hostages, under threat, while he takes on the roll as master of the house, in a macabre game of "happy Families".
His abuse of everyone grows, as things become more and more tense, towards the final climax.
The children cope as best they can with this frightening ordeal as their grandparents seem unable to act, and their parents know nothing about the bizarre situation.

A thrilling juvenile mystery. Touches on issues such as mental illness, control, and abuse.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara, Bosie and Noel don't really like the idea of having to live with grandparents they've never met. But Dad is in the hospital, and Mom has to stay near him. The children have nowhere else to stay. To make matters even worse, Grandfather is almost always angry and Grandmother dresses as though she were still a young actress.

But when their half-cousin David appears, Clara, Noel and Bosie think life will improve. Even though they have never actually heard of David, he is young and seems like fun. Then they begin to notice that David is different - strange. One moment he's nice, and the next he's a bully. He says he is a genius but he acts like a child. And Grandfather and Grandmother seem to be afraid of him. Before long, the children realize they are trapped. David is keeping them all prisoners!

Overall, I think that I really enjoyed this book. For a children's book, it had just the right amount of mystery and menace, and was extremely well-written as well. It was perhaps wrapped up rather too simply for me, but it still kept me very much engaged and interested to find out what happened next. I give this book an A! and will continue looking for more books by Nina Bawden to read.

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is always such a sense of suspense with a Bawden, and this one doesn't disappoint. She loved strange things, like battery-run shirts and the innocence of children watching a hostage situation. She covers textbook gaslighting and manipulation and family dynamics like it's her profession - and it was, in some way, but her eye for human nature, motives and control is impeccable.

None of the children are particularly winsome, and the grandfather stands out as a strong character weakened by age and helplessness.

[Serena]

IT SUCKT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if you ever have to read this book i will feel your pain!!!!