New Term at Malory Towers

New Term at Malory Towers by Pamela Cox is a term of dormitories and dares for 9 year olds, this time with Darrell's little sister in charge of the story.

What happens

Darrell has left. She is off to university with Sally, and she will not go back to the school even for a visit because she thinks she would cry.

So it is Felicity's turn. She cannot wait to get back, which slightly spoils her farewell speech about how lonely she will be without her big sister.

The only thing standing between her and the car is Bonnie Meadows, the new neighbour who has attached herself to Felicity all summer. Bonnie has come to say goodbye for the second time in two days. Then she stands on the garden path and sobs.

After that it is the long drive, the first sight of the school on its cliff with a tower at each corner, and Felicity out of the car before her mother can stop her, leaving her night case behind.

The pleasures here are small and very reliable. Who is in your dormy. Whether Matron means it about no midnight feasts. Whether June, who is clever and bold and completely untrustworthy, has decided to behave this term.

Then there is Amy Ryder-Cochrane. Amy has come from somewhere frightfully exclusive and would like everyone to know it. The dormitory is cramped. The decoration is not up to much. Apparently the girls unpack their own trunks, without a maid.

So Nora tells her they wash in cold water, sweep the floor and face bread and water for breakfast if Matron finds a speck of dust. Amy nearly faints. Nora snorts. It is a lovely bit of teasing and it tells you exactly how the term is going to go.

What your reader will not get is jeopardy. Nobody is in danger. The worst thing that can happen is being thought badly of, and in a school story that turns out to be quite enough.

One thing to expect. This is a world of trunks, health certificates, Mummy and Daddy, hols and girls who say jolly. Some readers fall straight into that and love how far away it feels. Others need a bit of translation for the first chapter or two, and it is worth reading the opening with them to see which sort you have.

What to read next

If the snooty new girl is the bit that grips, The Twins at St Clare's does it the other way round. Pat and Isabel arrive at their new school determined to look down on all of it, and the school is not remotely bothered.