PERSONAL: Confirming I'm alive

I've just been rather busy and not reading what could be classified as Girls Own. The closest I've come to it was The Rag Bag Family by Yvonne Coppard, which is a children's paperback about thirteen year old Rita, who's life goes into turmoil when her grandmother, who has always looked after her, has a stroke and she is sent to a foster family. I thought it was well-written and liked the dervlopment of Rita. I also read Summer Love by Diane Schwemm, which is book 1 of a series set in 'Silver Beach'. I won't be rushing out to try to find the rest of the series. It's about families who go to the same lakeside resort every year, but it's the end of their childhood for siblings Elli and Ethan. Apart from freaking out about her own possible boyfriend and the realisation that adults are fallible, Elli's worried that Ethan is involved with her nemesis Charlotte. Despite the focus on boy-girl love, it is perhaps Elli and Charlotte's mutual obsession (Charlotte envies Elli's 'perfect' life) that drives the book. It was written in a really patronising font.

Otherwise, after finally using Watersones's online service (because their shops seemed to have stopped stocking anything I'd like to buy) in response to what could be termed begging e-mails - their wonderful hub (see The Bookseller) let me down.

I hope that a review or two will be posted here eventually, but life is still looking like being busy at present.