By Sita Brahmachari Red Leaves (Unabridged) [Paperback] Paperback – 10 Oct. 2014

I have enjoyed this latest Sita Brahmachari book the most since Artichoke Hearts. It is quite a big undertaking ,weaving together the stories not only of Zak (whose journalist mother disappears in a war zone abroad) and Aisha the refugee from Somalia , and Elder (the probably wise woman in the wood ) but also of Iona a slightly older homeless girl and of Red her dog , who all find shelter in the wood ; but the author manages it well . As Sita says in the postscript "by bringing such different characters together I wanted to explore what is meant by 'community' ". Amnesty International says in a further piece at the end of the book " we are all born with the right ....to equality,a home to belong to, freedom of movement and the entitlement to seek sanctuary. The three young characters in Red Leaves explore all these issues, and so do we as readers." At the same time Sita explores the effects of their sleeping dreams on their daytime realities and the possibility that people from the past can appear in those dreams. Sita has all this flowing along and as usual with her books it is both easy to read and a pageturner.

Very moving. Couldn't put it down . Beautifully written book for all ages . This is Sita's best so far in my opinion.

I thought this was a good book. I liked the different stories that the characters had to tell, and I liked the characters themselves. I loved the idea of them all camping in the woods and stuff, and the book made me feel real emotion at times. The only reason that I gave it four stars was that sometimes Sita's writing is quite disjointed and doesn't flow that well, and I got a bit confused at the end, but I raced through this book and think it is worth a read.

A beautiful book and a classic for our time. The magic of Hansel and Gretel in the multicultural London of today.

5*

It is amazing the author has done a great job

This is the most beautiful book I have ever read. A Somali girl runs away into Home wood beacause she feels like her foster carer is abandoning her. A troubled boy tries to find a grave of a dead soldier but he falls from a fence and looses his memory. A homeless girl finds the pair while looking for her dog Red and joins them. When reading this book you feel like you are there with them. I cried several times as this book gives you a whirlwind of emotions. The characters are easy to relate to and you fall in love with them

My teenage daughter LOVED this book and devoured it! I picked it up and was charmed by the humanity, tenderness and variety of themes it explored with great delicacy and respect. The story contains profound and thought provoking messages and I loved reading it in the autumn. The red leaves that cover the woods will always remind me of this moving tale and the spirits of its characters shall remain with me for a long time to come and will accompany me on my walks. I can't wait to snatch my daughter's other books by Sita Brahmachari...