Grace
by Morris Gleitzman
Grace has been brought up in a religious sect and has to obey the strict rules set by the church elders. She must keep her hair long and tied up, she must never talk to anyone who isn't a part of her community and she must never question the elders.
Her parents, especially her father, have always encouraged her to ask questions but this causes problems with the elders and leads to her father being expelled from the church.
Grace's quest to find her father and reunite her family is moving and funny in this clever insight into life in a religious sect with wider connotations to the outside world.
Publisher: Puffin
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Morris Gleitzman
Morris was born in 1953 in Sleaford in Lincolnshire. His family moved south to the London suburbs when he was two. Then, in 1969, when he was a teenager, they emigrated to Australia. It was a big change and the shock was so great Morris stopped reading books for nearly a year. Though when he started again he found he wanted to write as well.
Beginning his literary career as a promotions writer, Morris was soon writing comedy scripts for the top rated Norman Gunston Show. His first novel for children – The Other Facts of Life – was published in 1985, followed by the hugely successful Two Weeks with the Queen for which he won the Children’s Book Award. He is a bestselling author of more than 27 books for children. From the humour of Bumface and the Toad series to the poignancy of Boy Overboard and Girl Underground, Morris’ stories have a struck a chord with young readers in over twenty countries.
Morris says ‘I’m interested in exploring a heroism that’s about perseverance, not escaping or denial or bitterness or bigotry. It’s the heroism of staying optimistic and continuing to struggle. Heroism for me is striving to overcome problems in the knowledge they will never be overcome.’
Morris Gleitzman, photo: Tim Keefe
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Reading Age: 9+
Interest level: 9+
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