SETTING/THEMES 

Two pence to cross the Mersey is set in the north of England.

This book explores twelve year old Helen Forrester’s life and how she dealt with poverty, family and everyday challenges with her six siblings. This shows us that she has to live life the hard way. 

                     

                     CHARACTERS/PLOT 

The main character in the book is twelve year old Helen Forrester. 

This story is told by Helen Forrester herself. She writes about how she managed to mind her two brothers Alan and baby Edward and her younger sisters, Avril and Fiona while they had very little food or water and had rented a one bedroom apartment until her mother or father found work and had enough money to move back into their house. Helen’s mother and father are hopeless about finding jobs. All Helen can do now is deal with the problems in front of her while Her mother and father try to make everyone at home happy.  While on her walk with baby Edward she stops at a bench to sit down and starts to talk to an old man who was sitting on the bench and a friendship arises between them and she feels like she can talk to him about how she really wants to go to school and realises that she can’t keep moaning about herself and start acting like an adult. 

  

                  STYLE OF WRITING 
 

Helen Forrester writes her story with dialogue and narrative with the way she sees the world and how rough it is. She never tells her mam or dad any of her ideas about how they could deal with a situation if one did occur because that would mean discipline and she explains why. Helen writes about what she would do when she had spare time. There is very good description in the book the way the children look and how the streets look and plenty more. There are twenty-seven chapters in this book and it’s a book you can’t put down. The book also gives you an idea if you were in the situation what to do. 
 

                   MY VIEW 

Very good book but it takes time to read it. Very good description init. Highly recommend book if you’re interested in reading. Fascinating to read as well as a sad book. You’ll

Be surprised at the end of the book. 
 
 

BY AOIFE NEWMAN