Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms
By Darienne Stewart,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Memorable heroine, lush writing weave a captivating spell.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
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What's the Story?
Wilhelmina Silver -- also known as Will, Wildcat, Cartwheel, or even "madman" -- loves her independent life on a Zimbabwean farm. Since the death of her mother, Will and her father have shared a rough-edged but idyllic life. Will spends days at a time outdoors, often on her own and sometimes on adventures with her best friend, Simon, and the horse boys. But when the farm's owner brings home a new wife, Will's uncivil ways are no longer tolerated. She's abruptly packed off to a boarding school in London, where her classmates taunt her as a "savage," and rules and expectations feel like a too-tight collar. The strange environment seems wilder and more frightening than anything Will endured in the bush, testing her courage as never before.
Is It Any Good?
In CARTWHEELING IN THUNDERSTORMS, Katherine Rundell breathes life into another fascinating, independent girl. Stubborn, spirited Will lives a beautiful life, and the portion of the novel set in Zimbabwe thrums with energy and beauty. Young readers will want to linger there with Will forever. When the story moves to gray London, the story also loses some of its shine. The resolution feels rushed, but readers who fall head over heels for Wilhelmina will realize midway through that a satisfying ending is unlikely.
However, the character, rather than what happens to her, sticks with you. Rundell is a talented, poetic writer with a knack for creating vivid, charismatic characters. She published this book as The Girl Savage in the U.K. two years before her lovely Rooftoppers, which also features a resourceful, unconventional heroine.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the fish-out-of-water aspect of Will's story and how it's similar to other books you've read. Why do authors thrust their characters into drastically different environments?
What do you think of the way women and girls are portrayed in Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms?
How do you think life would have turned out for Will if she had remained in Zimbabwe?
Book Details
- Author: Katherine Rundell
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Topics: Adventures, Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: August 26, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 256
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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