These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Jennie Godfrey - Author
A suspenseful historical coming-of-age story about friendship, fear and noticing injustice. Its child’s-eye investigation opens onto difficult adult realities, while humour, community details and emotional relationships give the darker subject matter human texture.
murdercommunity fearjudgementfriendshippubertycoming of ageracismmisogynyoutsiderscommunity
FictionNovel
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Themes in Context
Fear and suspicion
Miv and Sharon make a list of suspicious people while the Yorkshire Ripper murders shape how women and girls move through their community.CriticalCritical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.Critical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.
How the book presents it: The story treats the crimes and their impact as horrific, while showing that fear can encourage unfair suspicion of outsiders and disliked people.
Talk about: How does the book show the difference between genuine evidence and fear-driven suspicion?
Female friendship and growing up
Miv and Sharon investigate together while Sharon is further along in puberty and Miv remains more childlike.FavourableFavourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.Favourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.
How the book presents it: Friendship is presented tenderly and as important, but also as a relationship affected by unequal pace, changing identity and kindness.
Talk about: If Miv and Sharon’s experiences continue to diverge, what helps their friendship endure?
Prejudice and belonging
The village contains racist and misogynistic attitudes, while Mr Bashir is treated as suspicious partly because he is an outsider.CriticalCritical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.Critical: the book challenges or disapproves of this theme.
How the book presents it: Bigotry is exposed as part of the community’s moral landscape rather than endorsed; the investigation also reveals how suspicion can attach to difference.
Talk about: How do the characters respond when prejudice shapes whom they trust or blame?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may prompt thoughtful discussion about how fear changes ordinary life, how children interpret incomplete information, and how friendship develops when people are changing at different speeds.
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What Deserves Attention
The main point to consider is emotional intensity: murders of women, a threatening atmosphere, a mother’s withdrawal linked to depression, racism and misogyny. The treatment is serious rather than presented as entertainment.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How does Miv’s understanding of danger, suspicion and responsibility change as she learns more about the people around her—and does the story distinguish curiosity from fair judgement?
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Reading Approach
Consider reading alongside the child, pausing after the girls make their list to discuss evidence, assumptions and the effect of fear. Afterwards, talk about friendship, prejudice and what remains unresolved for Miv.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Fear and suspicion: The supplied passages do not establish how every suspicion is resolved or how explicitly the book critiques the girls’ methods.
Female friendship and growing up: The supplied passages do not give the full trajectory or ending of their friendship.
Prejudice and belonging: The passages identify prejudice and a racist bully but do not show every consequence or provide a complete account of affected characters’ perspectives.
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