The first book in Rhian Tracey's study of teenage relationships between Isla, the brash, mouthy, off the wall Scots girl, and Mike, the apparently more studious, serious and cerebral southerner, was a closely observed and sympathetic examination of the painful and passionate coming together of two seeming opposites. Continuing their story, Tracey shows how each has moved on, in themselves, within the relationship and within their family dynamic.

 In her earlier self, newly arrived in a culture so different from hers, raw from a family tragedy, Isla's chapters showed her independence and capacity to survive. Settled now into her relationship with Mike, without the necessity to keep fighting with such intensity for and against life, Isla has mellowed. Even though she is tackling questions essential to deepening or relinguishing the relationship, and making life decisions, Tracey's characterization of Isla does not retain the urgency and intense vibrancy which made the first novel outstanding. The story of Isla and Mike has lost the imaginative impetus which formally rivetted readers, and as a result, this second instalment in their lives provides the audience with a good read, still well-written, the characters remaining believable and sympathetic, but lacking the spark of genius which lit the first novel.

 For Key Stage 3 and 4 readers this is a valuable book: they will empathize with the dilemmas in Make or Break, they will also be provided discussion opportunities for situations which they will all face. While still an absorbing read however, they may not feel quite the same level of intellectual and emotional satisfaction offered by the earlier novel.

2007-12-30