The After School Crime Club

Hayley Webster's The After School Crime Club is a warm, quietly sad story for 10 year olds about a girl who'd much rather be watching old musicals.

What happens

Willow's Nanna died two months ago. They watched Singin' in the Rain together a zillion times, eating chocolate from an old ice-cream tub. Now Willow lets herself into Nanna's bungalow with a secret key to water the honeysuckle and watch the old videos on her own.

Her mum has other plans. Twice a week after school, Willow has to go to a study club in a bookshop to get her grades up. Willow isn't impressed (she wants to work in an old cinema one day, thanks very much).

At the club there's Tay Welding. Everyone at school tells stories about Tay, and nobody knows which ones are true. There's Marie, too, the confident girl with the long plaits. At the end of the first session Marie leans in and whispers that some of them like to set each other dares.

The first dare is small. Bring Marie something that belongs to someone else, something they'll never miss. And the dares keep getting bigger.

Willow tells the story herself, and her head is full of films. She imagines the whole high street bursting into a big song-and-dance number. She wishes she had someone to talk for her, like the singer hidden behind the curtain in Singin' in the Rain. She's funny and prickly and a bit lonely, and you'll probably want to give her a hug (she's not a huggy person, though).

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Nanna's death has already happened when the book starts, but it's all through Willow's thoughts. She hasn't visited the grave yet and can't bring herself to. That might make it a tender read for a child who's lost a grandparent recently.

For a child who's ever felt invisible at school, or been tempted to do something they know is wrong just to fit in, it could be really good company. It's gentle about all of it.

Willow's mum is interesting too. She's always rushing and planning and pushing. Willow knows she's trying, even when it drives her mad.

What to read next

If your reader wants another girl missing her grandma, Where the Lost Ones Go is in the library too. Eliot has just moved house, she misses her Babung terribly, and she's hoping her forty-dollar ghost detector might turn something up.