The Secret of Sabrina Fludde *

Fisk, Pauline. The Secret of Sabrina Fludde. New York: Bloomsbury, 2001.

Originally published in England.

This is two books in a row that I am going to trash. It is unusual that I find 2 book I dislike this much so close together.

A girl washes up under a railway bridge in Pengwern. When she awakes, she has no idea who she is where she is. She takes on the name Abren. She wanders the town aimlessly for some time until she meets up with a homeless boy, named Phaze II. She lives with him beneath the railway bridge, where there is also a mysterious old woman who doesn't seem to move or talk. Abren and Phaze II are eventually taken in by a family with a young son after they are discovered by the police. All the while, she tries to figure out who she is. The only clue she can find is in a book she finds that has an old painting in it, of a girl that looks just like her in Pengwern, at the water. She begins to wonder if it is her, even thought the book is very old. After awhile, her mother comes to claim her and she is taken back home.

The ending is really strange and not particularly satisfying. At the end, I was left wondering what the point of story was. It is entirely possible I was missing something, but if I missed it, I think most teens would miss it too. I would have to say that skipping this book if you see it on the library shelves would be a pretty good idea.