Child X

by Lee Weatherly

Book Overview

Juliet is passionate about acting and has been given the chance to star as the lead role in the play Northern Lights (based on Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass). But at home, her life is not so... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385750099
• ISBN13: 9780385750097
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: David Fickling Books
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Child X

Child X is an unpredictable and riveting novel by Lee Weatherly. Child X is about a girl named Jules Cheney, who experience very strange events at age 13. Jules and her best friend Marty, wanted to be in the city play, called "Northern Nights". They auditioned, but only Jules got the part. Marty was jealous and found a new friend, and started ignoring Jules. Meanwhile, Jules faces some harsh family problems. Her dad left, her parents got a divorce. Her dad took everything with him when he left, but only left behind his favourite picture of Jules. One thing that surprised her was that her dad also took her hair brush. Jules went out to find him, and gave the picture to him, but he just got very mad and drove her home. Jules felt confused in life, and her mom wouldn't answer the questions she asked. Later on some weird photographers started leaping out of bushes and snapping pictures of Jules. One day, she found herself in the newspaper, but her name was changed to "Child X". The article was about how her dad found out that Jules was not her real daughter, and demands Jules mother to repay him everything he had given Jules for 13 years. Jules was completely shocked at that. She demanded her mother to give her an answer, but she didn't. Jules got very mad. More and more photographers popped out, so Jules grandmother was with her when she goes to school and to rehearsal for the play. She didn't tell her mom what part she got (which is Lyra), Jules always thought that her dad should be the first to know. Eventually they found out that Jules uncle, on her "father's" side, Derek was Jules real father. At the end, her father realized that even though Jules is not his real daughter, he loved her like one. So he was the only audience that caught Jules attention on stage, during the "Northern Nights" play. I recommend this book to anyone, because the events just come by with a flow, the expressions of characters can keep a reader turning the page, and how it shows how cruel the world is minding your business. The events in this story come and go very fast, but very rhythmic, as if it was a song. Even though it seems like a very short book overall it contains several events squished together, but the way it was compacted together is very smooth. Somehow the author kept everything together without making it sound like it's jumping all over the place. Even though it did, in a good way. Since this is a sad story that could happen in life, every character in this story expressed themselves the way normal real life people would. Such as Marty, she was jealous about everything that happened to Jules, even though some events were horrible, because she hasn't experienced it before herself. As for Jules, she just wanted to be left alone, she wants all the photographers and reporters to just leave her alone. She didn't want to be "Child X" anymore, since her parents' divorce is a family problem, she doesn't feel good having other people gossiping about it.

An excellent debut novel.

What if your whole identity changed in an instant? Aspiring actress and fantasy fan Jules can?t understand why her loving father has suddenly packed up and moved out and wants nothing to do with her. Sure, he and her mom have their differences, but she never dreamed they?d actually separate. Cast as fierce tomboyish Lyra in a local performance of Northern Lights (the British title of The Golden Compass), Jules hides this secret she is so proud of as her family falls apart. When she learns that her father has confronted her mother with the accusation that Jules is not his child, she is stunned to discover she is at the heart of a media frenzy, the unsuspecting subject of DNA tests, and the victim of the lawsuit her non-biological father is bringing against her mother. As a minor, Jules remains only Child X in the papers until a coy reporter gets her to spill the beans at an interview about the play Jules is involved with.Both a mystery thriller and a wonderful tribute to author Philip Pullman, Child X is a dramatic and moving exploration of the dynamics of relationships of all kinds. The author takes a hard look at the power of the press (and their perseverance for a story). Jules is a likeable and sympathetic character that the reader roots for all the way through, and the ending is a satisfying one. People change in realistic ways, and Jules finds friends in unexpected places. The British tale is low on slang and very accessible to American readers.

A Very Good Read

A book with lively characters, with a strong story line, with fans of "The Golden Compass," with lots of fun British slang---what more could you ask for?"Child X" is a well-written book, although the story line seemed a bit predictable to me. I could tell what was coming with the divorce, when the main character just couldn't understand why her dad was gone. But I must say, there was a great twist at the end (that I won't give away!) that surprized me and a happy ending after all. Jules is a character with a lot of spunk and a cheeky British vocabulary, which makes the book fun to read and balances out the predicibility factor. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book--just not to older teens who will see through the plot right away.