Alice-Miranda on Holiday by Jacqueline Harvey

Title: Alice-Miranda on Holiday

Author: Jacqueline Harvey

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Puffin Australia

Published: 1^st September 2010

Format: Paperback

Pages: 304

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: The ever so exciting sequel to Alice-Miranda at School

Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones has survived her first term at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale. And now Jacinta Headlington-Bear, the school’s second-best tantrum thrower, is joining Alice-Miranda’s family for term break.

Who would have thought it! The two girls are looking forward to a relaxing holiday at Highton Hall. But a cranky boy is causing mischief on the estate, a movie star has come to visit, and a stranger is snooping about.

Add a naughty pony, a hint of romance and a dastardly scheme, and Jacinta and Alice-Miranda might have a more exciting holiday than they were expecting.

~*~

The Alice-Miranda series has been sitting on my shelf patiently for a few years. Now, while I wait for review books for next year to arrive, I’m spending time catching up with some other reading. And, the fabulous Alice-Miranda series by Jacqueline Harvey is something I am spending time catching up on.

Having read books one, nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one, I’ve gone back to read books two to eighteen over the next few weeks or months, whichever happens first. In book two, Alice-Miranda has finished her first term at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies, and is on her way home for the holidays with her friend, Jacinta Headlington-Bear. There’s a surprise in store at Highton Hall – actually, a few surprises! It’s meant to be a relaxing holiday and family plans for a beloved aunt.

Yet, when Alice-Miranda and Jacinta arrive, they run into a famous movie star, Lawrence Ridley, and a rude boy called Lucas, then there’s a stranger snooping around. What are these people doing, and are they connected? It’s a big mystery for a very little girl who manages to charm everyone she meets, and fits in so well. Alice-Miranda’s pony, Bonaparte, is also getting up to his old tricks eating what he shouldn’t, and there’s romance and scheming in the air as well. What a holiday!

The second Alice-Miranda book picks up nicely after the first one, setting things up for the autumn holidays in Alice-Miranda’s world. She’s ready for fun and adventure with her friends on the estate, Jasper and Poppy. As the story unfolds, there are hints about what is going on, red herrings, and excellent introductions to the people in Alice-Miranda’s life back at Highton Hall. It’s a family and community, much like Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies. Each is wonderfully rendered, a childhood ideal for home and boarding school, with a few prickly parts to give readers and characters the obstacle and show that the world is not always ideal, but with someone like Alice-Miranda around, there will always be a bright spot in the day.

This is going to be a fun series to read, and even though I am much older than the target audience, there’s something fun about reading kids and young adult books as an older reader, especially when they are books that you would have read or resonated with as a younger reader too. It’s a complete joy to step into these worlds, real or imagined and get into the story, become part of the character’s world. It’s a great addition to a lovely series that is gentle and adventurous at the same time, that I think has something for anyone who reads it, and where younger readers will adore it.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series and the fun that it brings as I read about Alice-Miranda, her adventures, and growing up.