Reap the Harvest - Margaret Dickinson

*MARGARET DICKINSON* was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. She moved here at the age of seven, and has used her surroundings as the basis for most of her books.
She wrote her first book at fourteen, and had her first book published at twenty five. She wrote seven other books before taking a seven year break to bring up her two daughters.
In 1993 she was offered a two book contract and wrote two stories with a strong woman as the central ...
...the trilogy, now known as the Fleethaven Trilogy. She has since written many other books, all including her love of water and the country landscape.


*REAP THE HARVEST* is the third book in the trilogy. The first chapter opens in 1953, and Ella, the main character in the book is just ten years old. Her and her mother, Kate, have arrived at Brumby's Farm. This is the home of Kate's' mother. Kate and her mother have never got ... more

*MARGARET DICKINSON* was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. She moved here at the age of seven, and has used her surroundings as the basis for most of her books.
She wrote her first book at fourteen, and had her first book published at twenty five. She wrote seven other books before taking a seven year break to bring up her two daughters.
In 1993 she was offered a two book contract and wrote two stories with a strong woman as the central character. In 1996, Margaret wrote a third book to complete the trilogy, now known as the Fleethaven Trilogy. She has since written many other books, all including her love of water and the country landscape.

*REAP THE HARVEST* is the third book in the trilogy. The first chapter opens in 1953, and Ella, the main character in the book is just ten years old. Her and her mother, Kate, have arrived at Brumby's Farm. This is the home of Kate's' mother. Kate and her mother have never got on, and Kate's' pregnancy killed any love that there was between them. As a result Ella has never met her grandmother.
Her Grandmothers' greeting is not a nice one and she soon learns how unwanted she and her mother are. But they have only come to attend Kate's' Grandfathers' funeral and so the stay is promised to be a short one.
Unfortunately events do not go as planned, and tragically Kate is killed. This means that Ella has no alternative but to stay and live with her Grandmother and Brumby's Farm. Neither Ella nor Esther, the Grandmother, is happy about the situation, but neither have a choice.
The story tells about Ella's rather unhappy upbringing, but also brings out the good times she has with Jonathan, Esther's' husband and Ella's Grandfather. Ella makes friends with the people in the neighbouring farm and in particular with the son, Rob. You see the friendship blossom and develop over the years along with the childish antics that they get up to.
At the same time developing through the story is a mystery. Passing comments and snippets of conversation have indicated to Ella that her family has secrets, ones that they are very keen to keep from her. Ella, of course, is determined to find out her family's history, and find out why her Grandmother hates her so much.

*COST* I bought my book in a seafront book shop in Bridlington, Yorkshire. It cost me £1.99, but was also part of a 3 for £5 offer. I wish now I had bought the other two books in the Trilogy but sadly I didn't. I have looked around local bookshops for them since returning but not come across them. I have managed to find them online, the cheapest being £5.99 from Amazon. I have also seen some secondhand ones on Ebay for around £2 - £3, but not including P&P, so I certainly got a bargain.

I have not yet checked out my local library but I reckon a good one should be able to locate them for you.

*PERSONAL THOUGHTS* I really enjoyed this book; in fact, I can say it is probably the most gripping book I have ever read. I had bought the book whilst on holiday, to read whilst we were traveling and sitting around in the kids' club. I had read the book from cover to cover in two days, which was a real record for me. I often have trouble concentrating when reading, as I get easily distracted by things going on around me. I also find that if I have not got into a book in the first chapter, I will often not read any more. With this book I was hooked within the first few pages. It has a very good opening which immediately draws you in.
Another thing I liked was the short chapters, which seemed to be present in most, and possibly all of Margaret's' books. I love to read in bed, but often find after reading just a couple of pages that I am falling asleep. The next night I forget where I was and start the chapter again. As a result I never seem to get anywhere. So the short chapters were brilliant. It was also handy as I was the navigator on our journeys and often I would be so engrossed in the book that I would forget to direct my husband. But at least with the short chapters I could look up every now and then and check where we were.
At the time of buying the book I had not realized this book was in fact the last of the Trilogy. But it did not matter at all. In fact it was not until I finished the book that I realised. Reading the last book first actually had some advantages as well as disadvantages.
In the first book, Plough the Furrow, you learn about the upbringing of the Grandmother, Esther. In the second, Sow the Seed, it is the turn of Kate, Ella's mother. This book concludes the saga, and it is throughout this book that Ella learns the history of her family that has been told in the first two books.
Having not read these all the information Ella learnt was also new to me, so as she discovered secrets, so did I. This was quite exciting and maybe what spurned me on to keep reading.
I would still like to read the other two books, but obviously now having read the last I know the ending to the first two.
In a nutshell, I would definitely recommend this book; if it is the type of thing you enjoy reading. So hooked by Margaret's' writing that I have since purchased two other books. I read the next within a few days again but the third I am stuck halfway through. Not because I am not enjoying it but simply because we came home from holiday and have not since found the time to sit let alone read.

ISBN 0-330-34479-X 

...less