SuitabookSilverfin
Charlie Higson
- Reading
- Read alongside the child if suspense or loss may be difficult. Pause after major dangers to discuss choices and consequences, while avoiding promises about the ending, which remains unclear.
- Themes
- Courage and resilience: The story presents young Bond facing danger and is described as emphasising grit, planning, intelligence and courage. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Growing up amid danger and loss: Bond is portrayed as a vulnerable schoolboy who has experienced the death of his parents while entering dangerous circumstances. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Class and school life: The book begins with Bond’s school life at Eton, where he makes friends and enemies; one reader notes attention to 1930s Britain and class-consciousness. School setting and class-consciousness form part of the social world, offering a basis for discussing privilege, belonging and relationships.
- Worth knowing
- Consider whether the reader is comfortable with peril, gore and grotesque touches, and with references to people being hurt or killed. The death of Bond’s parents may also make loss significant.