Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms

A realistic fiction novel, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, tells of one girl’s journey to finding her place in a civilized society.

Will loves living in Africa and is a very wild child. Her father and his employer see nothing wrong with her wildness, for she fits well in Africa. She’s very

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capable and smart. When she is sent to a boarding school in English, Will doesn’t fit in because she’s dirty, her hair hasn’t been cut, and she doesn’t know how to eat with utensils. She’s very uncivilized, so she an easy target to tease. As she has always been loved and cherished, Will finds being treated badly unacceptable. No one takes the time to know here; she is judged by her actions.

Will runs away. By running, Will can be who she wants to be, but London doesn’t have the open spaces that Africa does. People notice.

Will has to adapt to the society in which she lives. How this gets resolved is rather quick. The changes at the end are abrupt as well, making the end seem forced instead of realistic.

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Wilhelmina Silver has always been allowed to run a little bit wild. She lives on the farm where her father is the overseer, and she has her best friend Simon, her horse and her monkey, fruit ripe for the picking, and the freedom to go wherever she wants and spend her days however she chooses. When

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disaster strikes and Will is shipped off to boarding school, she might as well have been sent to another planet. Grief-stricken and claustrophobic, Will decides to run away . . . but London is not like Africa. Where can she go to find the wide-open spaces she craves?

This book reminded me strongly of Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan, as the main characters in both books had the same strong affection for Africa. All in all, though, I'd say this book is not quite as strong. The characterization is good, but the pacing is problematic -- so much time is spent setting up Will's idyllic existence at the beginning of the book, that the reader (at least, any reader who has read the jacket copy) is left waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak, and for Will to be sent away to London. In comparison with the leisurely beginning, the London parts of the story feel a bit rushed, and the ending wraps up a little too neatly. I did enjoy reading this story despite its issues, but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to.

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Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms is a novel of joy and love and freedom. Young Will is passionately in love with her life in Zimbabwe, South Africa and with her father. Her joy cartwheels across the page in vibrant escapades with best friend, Simon, interspersed with Shona words. The two race across

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the fields while hanging upside down from their horse's necks; roast bananas spiked with sugar in outdoor fires; punch boys who are cruel to monkeys. Will hurls herself into her father's arms and wraps her legs around his waist upon his return from days away, and irons every piece of his clothing to be sure parasites don't harm him. Then the unthinkable occurs and wildcat Will is sent to a gray English boarding school filled with a pack of girls worse than hyenas. The loss of freedom and sun and all she loves drives Will to extremes, yet she retains her courage and earthy intelligence as she navigates London's strangeness. I loved Will for her fierce joy and goodness and I loved Daniel's grandmother for her wisdom. Read Carthweeling in Thunderstorms for the sheer joy of it.

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I have now written this review twice and lost it both times. The universe does not want me to post a review of this book. Suffice to say, it is some of the most gorgeous prose I have read in years. Read it, read it, read it.

It also has some of the most perfect descriptions of how hard school can be

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when you're different, and how worthwhile it is to persevere. Not because it gets easier, or because the bullies are secretly good kids with problems of their own and you'll be friends someday, but because the struggle itself makes you the strongest, freest version of yourself you can possibly be for your future adventures. It's a tough message, I imagine, for families who want to shelter their kids from pain, but it will resonate at the core of many of those "weird" kids. (And former weird kids.)

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#unreadshelfproject2020. I picked this book up because of the beautiful cover and the snippet on the back. I was a bit disappointed. It took quite awhile for the story to take me to the adventure it promised. On a positive note, some of Rundell’s words are magical. I didn’t dislike the book,

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but it certainly isn’t one I will pull off the shelves to show a young reader.

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