Noah’s Gold

Description

Noah’s Gold

Frank Cottrell-Boyce

(MacMillan Children’s Books) 

‘To whom it may concern,

I am a Year Seven from St Anthony of Padua High School, Limavady. I accidentally stowed away on a geography trip and got accidentally bus-wrecked with five Year Nines on the island of AranOr.  We are now accidentally involved in a very, very big robbery. I am writing this letter in case something happens to me. To whoever finds this – we are not robbers on purpose.  We honestly didn’t mean to steal millions of pounds in gold bullion.  It was an accident.

Yours truly, Noah Moriarty.’

It is bad enough that Noah has accidentally stowed away on his big sister’s geography field trip. Unfortunately, it seems that her teacher’s SatNav is not to be trusted for it’s directed the minibus to an uninhabited island. When the teacher realises the error, he leaves the pupils aboard the mini bus while he seeks help. Thereafter, further disaster strikes, for he’s forgotten to apply the handbrake and the mini bus is teetering on a cliff edge…

It seems that the minibus has arrived in a place of confusion. What’s more the pupils must face up to a a carousel of adventures and discoveries, all of which result in their discovery of a stash of gold bullion. Yet, has been there before them? Thereafter, could there be anyone there, now?

Noah’s Gold is recounted through a series of letters that Noah writes to his parents. While these are posted in a letterbox, there does not appear to be anyone taking collections. However, Noah seems to receive replies? Who could be writing to him? It seems that Noah’s managed to break the island’s internet connection, leaving the minibus crew without any phone connection. How can they survive? Might it be through initiative, hard work and ingenuity?

It seems that Noah’s Gold is like other best-selling, beloved titles from Frank Cottrell-Boyce in that it is hugely readable and thoroughly funny. Its multilayered plot is full of jokes and great characters.

While Bookwagon was initially reminded of Framed, we delight in other titles by this writer, including Runaway Robot and Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth. It seems Frank Cottrell-Boyce writes books with which readers are completely engaged, while being unique and complex and clever.