This book moves swiftly from the present into the past as Martin Dean explains that his younger brother Dally (Dally) is dead, and then moves on to narrate the series of events preceding his death. The two boys live near the country town of Triggerton and they spend a lot of time hanging out at the old railway station and enjoy the joys of country life, like lighting campfires, riding motorbikes and exploring the old gold mines in the hills. Then Dally's illness gets worse and Martin spends more time outside exploring alone and is having a great deal of trouble coming to terms with the inevitability that his brother is going to die. One day, whilst walking his dog Carl along the tracks of the old station, he meets Gilbert (Gil) a friendship instantly forms. But there are a lot of strange things about Gil, the way he speaks about the past, his clothes, especially the old army slouch hat withe hole in the side. This is an extremely sad book but it helps you get in the mind of a brother and appreciate the complexities of the impending death of a loved one.
This blog contains reviews and comments on children's books which I own, have read, and would like to share. I look for books at markets and opportunity shops. They are cleaned up, covered and read. Then I take them to the classroom for students to read. Students can borrow the books at any time. Many books are also from my personal library, especially the Youth Fiction. Students can preview some of them on this blog. Now, I am also on the lookout for great new releases for my grandson Archie.
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