After having read Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells, I thought I would try some of his other books, so I borrowed Abomination from the library. This is a 206-page novel for ‘older readers’ that was published in 1998 and shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.
The two main ... Read review
Martha, the youngest daughter of fanatically religious parents, is all too aware that her ... more
family is unusual. Taunted and bullied at school, and lonely at home with only postcards from her elder sister to keep her sane, Martha knows there has to be so...
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Martha, the youngest daughter of fanatically religious parents, is all too aware that her ... more
family is unusual. Taunted and bullied at school, and lonely at home with only postcards from her elder sister to keep her sane, Martha knows there has to be so...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Martha, the youngest daughter of fanatically religious parents, is all too aware that her ... more
family is unusual. Taunted and bullied at school, and lonely at home with only postcards from her elder sister to keep her sane, Martha knows there has to be so...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Martha, the youngest daughter of fanatically religious parents, is all too aware that her ... more
family is unusual. Taunted and bullied at school, and lonely at home with only postcards from her elder sister to keep her sane, Martha knows there has to be so...
Postage & Packaging: refer to website Availability: Check Site.
Martha, the youngest daughter of fanatically religious parents, is all too aware that her ... more
family is unusual. Taunted and bullied at school, and lonely at home with only postcards from her elder sister to keep her sane, Martha knows there has to be some other way of living. But it is only when she is befriended by the new boy, Scott, that she decides to reveal the terrible secret that has so far kept her in emotional chains.Carnegie Award-winning author Robert Swindells cleverly draws the reader into Martha's lonely, nightmarish, yet somehow disturbingly and inexplicably comfortable, world by using his mastery of character and mood to create a sense of overpowering tension that is often horrifying but ultimately incredibly sad.Abominationis certainly not a book for the faint-hearted, but lovers of page-turningly gripping suspense coupled with compassionate and forceful storytelling will find it utterly irresistible. --Susan Harrison
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1-5 of 5 reviews of Abomination - Robert Swindells
In A Dark Dark House...
Advantages: A good read, a page-turner, easy to relate to the characters Disadvantages: Only because I'm old and fussy!
...other books, so I borrowed Abomination from the library. This is a 206-page novel for ‘older readers’ that was published in 1998 and shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.
The two main characters are two children aged twelve who attend the same school – Martha and Scott. Both are outsiders in some way. Scott is a new boy, just finding his way around a different school. Martha isn’t new, but she is still an outsider. ... ...and more disturbing images, whereas Abomination tackles some unusual ideas again, but never strays over the boundary to make it too frightening. I would certainly have no problems with my ten, eleven and twelve year olds reading this book.
Although this book (understandably) lacks the tension of an adult work in this genre, Abomination is still a page-turner and easy to read in one go. It is written in short chapters telling the story ... more
After having read Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells, I thought I would try some of his other books, so I borrowed Abomination from the library. This is a 206-page novel for ‘older readers’ that was published in 1998 and shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.
The two main characters are two children aged twelve who attend the same school – Martha and Scott. Both are outsiders in some way. Scott is a new boy, just finding his way around a different school. Martha isn’t new, but she is still an outsider. She dresses in hand-made clothes and is known to be ‘weird’.
Scott and Martha both face being bullied at school and find strength in each other, becoming friends. Scott is Martha’s only friend. She is a member of a religious order called the Righteous, which severely restricts her social life. Her daily routine includes praying and household chores. She is not allowed to have posters on her walls, go out with friends or read books that have not been approved by her parents.
Her house is very strange too. Everything is dark and old-fashioned. They don’t have a TV and her father beats her, if she listens to Radio One. But the house also holds a darker, more sinister secret – there is something in the cellar, something that is referred to only as ‘Abomination.’ For that reason, Martha could never have friends round, even if she had any.
The book is suitable for children aged around nine to fourteen, I would say. I found Brother in the Land was more ‘adult’ with harsher themes and more disturbing images, whereas Abomination tackles some unusual ideas again, but never strays over the boundary to make it too frightening. I would certainly have no problems with my ten, eleven and twelve year olds reading this book.
Although this book (understandably) lacks the tension of an adult work in this genre, Abomination is still a page-turner and easy to read in one go. It is written in short chapters telling the story from both Scott and Martha’s viewpoints, which makes it equally as accessible for both genders. Boys can read along, sympathising with Scott and girls can be on Martha’s side.
The book is written simply, but it never seems patronising. The language used isn’t overly complex, but conveys perfectly the sort of problems kids go through. What will my classmates think, if I have a boyfriend / girlfriend? How do I stop being bullied? Is it better to tell or to suffer in silence? How do I get to be one of the ‘in’ crowd? I’m sure every child has asked themselves these questions at some point.
The book would be ideal for a child to read who felt an outsider (for whatever reason) or was being bullied at school, but anyone could read this book and get something from it. I found it an interesting novel and hard to put down. Although I didn’t find it wholly satisfying, this is probably due to my age and fussiness, rather than any fault with the author.
I enjoyed this book and found it refreshingly different. I am sure children will love it even more. I will let my kids read it next, before returning it to the library.
Abomination by Robert Swindells Published by Doubleday Paperback, £3.99
Advantages: thought provoking and imaginative Disadvantages: none
Book information
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Title: Abomination
Author: Robert Swindells
Year Published: 1999
Length: 208 pages
Publisher: Corgi Childrens
ISBN: 0440863627
Price: £4.99
The Author
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Swindells was born 20th March in Bradford and currently lives in West Yorkshire. His first book was 'When Darkness comes' which was written in 1973. He has won many book awards including the Children's Book Award more than once. Swindells ... ...to produce a book which gives pleasure and keeps children reading. It can be interesting, gripping, frightening as long as it keeps children reading."
Story Line
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*Martha*
This story is about a girl called Martha who is bullied at school for her odd parents and strange clothes. She has no friends and feels extremely lonely. Her home life is no better with her strangely religiously parents who think they are doing the best for her ...
tiger645 21.04.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Abomination - Robert Swindells
"Ambomination" is book you start you can't put it down.It is told by two narrators,Martha and Scott.Martha is a girl who is bullied at school and has been dragged in to the righteous religion by her very strict parents.She is not like many other children her age because of her religion he family don't even own a television.All her clothes are hand made by her mother.She is very isolated in her home as she can't bring friends back to her house because ... ...is an very ordinary boy who is really popular at school.He has just moved to the area and takes part in chasing Martha home from school everyday with the rest of the bullies.He then begins getting really friendly with Martha.He eventually falls in love with her.
Martha's parents keep a small child in the cellar in a cage.(he belongs to martha's sister who has moved away).This is a very moving story which i reccommend you read. ...
emmarayner 07.03.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Abomination - Robert Swindells
Advantages: Great read Disadvantages: You can't put the book down
...family doesn't want anyone to find out about it. Later on in the story Scott does find out what Abomination is and wants to help Martha. The book leads to an unpredictable ending, when you find out what Abomination really is. You can buy this in book stores for £3.99. ...
Mikew79 25.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Abomination - Robert Swindells
Advantages: A good read Disadvantages: Slightly disturbing
More deep than some of Robert Swindells' other works, this book tells an alarming tale told by two narrators. Martha is a young girl, bullied at school constantly because of her scruffy clothes and her v. strongly religious parents. Basically she is a captive in her own home, and her family have a dreadful secret concerning who, or what, lurks in their cellar . . .
This is a disturbing novel but really good, and I would definitely read it again, ...
JDTeen 01.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Abomination - Robert Swindells
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Reviews which might be of interest for "Abomination - Robert Swindells"
Advantages: Easy to read, a page-turner in places. Disadvantages: Cliched, predictable.
After recently reading two novels by RobertSwindells – Brother in the Land and Abomination – I felt I had become quite a fan, even if he is a children’s’ writer and I’m 33! So I bought another of his and borrowed two more from the library. This is my review of Room 13, a novel published in 1989 and the winner of the 1990 Children’s Book Award.
Room 13 is a horror or thriller type of book for children aged around ten to fourteen, I would say. At just over 150 pages long, it is easy to read and after a slightly hesitant start, I finished the last hundred pages or so in one sitting. The chapters are fairly short throughout, which means they don’t look too daunting for kids. Each one begins with a black and white illustration of a gate, each time featuring a different picture inside, which ...
Advantages: Compelling read, well researched, well written. Disadvantages: Possibly not deep enough for adults - but it's a kids' book!
was impressed by how realistic the story was made. Even though you know time travel is impossible, you are soon swept up into the events and everything is so well researched that you become immersed in the detail. There is actually a lot of factual information in here, but it isn’t presented as being ‘educational’ – you just find yourself learning things as you go along.
Even though the main character is a boy, I didn’t find the novel alienating towards female readers. I think anyone over the age of nine or so would enjoy this and learn a lot about WWII as well. It is a riveting read and one which I thoroughly enjoyed, despite being considerably older than the target age group.
I have read several of RobertSwindells’ books now – Brother in the Land, Room 13, Abomination and this one. They ...
Advantages: Interesting, descriptive and action packed story. Disadvantages: Shorter than some books...but that's the only disadvantage.
decided to train as a teacher and wrote his first book while on this teaching course (When Darkness Comes, written in 1973). He taught at a Primary school while continuing to write, but finally gave up teaching in 1980 to become a full-time author. He?s written a lot of books since then including Brother in the Land, Room 13 and Abomination. I haven?t read all of his books but generally they cater for older children and teenagers. Apparently RobertSwindells prefers to be called Bob?.so, if you ever meet him?.
~~~The story.
Blitzed is about a boy called George who is absolutely obsessed by all things to do with World War Two. The book starts off in contemporary England ~ George is really excited because his school is going on a trip to the Eden Camp Museum (near Malton in Yorkshire). He wants to learn more about the War and he also ...
Product Information for "Abomination - Robert Swindells" »
Product details
Type
Fiction
Genre
Children's
Title
Abomination
Author
Robert Swindells
ISBN
0385408544; 0440863627; 0552555886
Manufacturer's product description
Martha is twelve - and very different from other kids, because of her parents. Strict members of a religious group - the Brethren - their rules dominate Martha's life. And one rule is the most important of all: she must never ever invite anyone home. If she does, their shameful secret - Abomination - could be revealed. But as Martha makes her first real friend in Scott, a new boy at school, she begins to wonder. Is she doing the right thing by helping to keep Abomination a secret? And just how far will her parents go to prevent the truth from being known?
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