The Great Godden - Meg Rosoff

The Great Godden, a young adult novel written by Meg Rosoff and released in 2020, is an excellent summer story. It is really well written, with a good sense of humor in the perspective of a teenager and easy to read, although it might not be the best book for someone who likes a lot of action and tension, as there isn’t actually happening a lot. Nevertheless, I was always excited to continue reading and really enjoyed it.
The novel is about different family relationships, manipulation, (first) love, sexuality and prejudice. Having read the book, it really makes you think about these topics and teaches you a lesson of life, which I think is amazing.
The story is about a family consisting of six people: the parents, the storyteller, whose gender isn’t revealed, which makes the book even more interesting, and his or her younger siblings Mattie, Tamsin and Alex. They spend their summer at a house by the sea, together with the dad’s cousin Hope and her boyfriend Mal. It gets a lot more interesting when Hope’s godmother’s children, the good-looking, charming Kit and the mysterious, silent Hugo arrive to join the family. This summer is different from all the others: a lot of flirting, many love interests and some unexpected turn of events, which carry serious consequences.
What I find most fascinating about the book is the unrevealed gender of the storyteller. I wondered throughout the whole book about it without coming to a conclusion, although it really doesn’t matter that much. His or her thoughts were entertaining and I could relate to a lot of them, although I wish the person’s emotions were described in more detail.
I think the summer feelings that come along while reading are part of what make this book special, everyone is dreaming of spending their summer at a house by the sea, right?
In my opinion, it’s an amazing book to read at the beach or on holiday: entertaining and interesting and definitely a great story for people of all ages above twelve.

Text: Flora Wesely, 5a