Hetty Feather / Sapphire Battersea

Jaqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt (Illustrator)
Hetty Feather: London, 1876. Hetty Feather is just a tiny baby when her mother leaves her at the Foundling Hospital.The Hospital cares for abandoned children- but Hetty must first live with a foster family until she is big enough to go to school.
Life in the countryside is sometimes hard, but with her foster brothers, Jem and Gideon, Hetty helps in the fields and plays vivid imaginary games. Together they sneak off to visit the travelling circus, and Hetty is mesmerised by the show – especially the stunning Madame Adeline and her performing horses.
But Hetty’s happiness is threatened once more when she must return to the Foundling Hospital to begin her education. The new life of awful uniforms and terrible food is a struggle for her, and she desperately misses her beloved Jem. But now she has the chance to find her real mother. Could she really be the wonderful Madame Adeline? Or will Hetty find the truth is even more surprising?
Sapphire Battersea: Hetty Feather is a Foundling Hospital girl and was given her name when she was left there as a baby. When she is reunited with her mother, she hopes her beautiful new name, Sapphire Battersea, will also mean a new life! But things don’t always go as planned…
Follow the twists and turns of Hetty’s adventure as she goes out to work as a maid for a wealthy man. She longs to be reunited with her childhood sweetheart Jem – but also finds a new sweetheart, Bertie the butcher’s boy, who whisks her away from her chores to experience the delights of the funfair!But Hetty’s life may also take a darker path. Can she cope with the trials ahead?
I’m reviewing these books together as they are the first two parts of a trilogy by Jacqueline Wilson.
In Hetty Feather we are introduced to Hetty, a feisty red-haired girl from the Victorian times.
Abandoned by her mother, she is taken to a foundling hospital in London.She gets sent to a foster home and six years later she returns and discovers her mother and her true name, Sapphire Battersea.
This leads me on to the next book Sapphire Battersea. This is the story of when she leaves the foundling hospital for good and takes up her job of being a house maid. There she befriends the friendly cook and Sarah the other housemaid. I don’t want to give anything else away so I will leave it there!
These books are very difficult to put down and the illustrations don’t give too much away at the start of each chapter. I would highly recommend these books to any 9-14 year old girls. I am slightly annoyed that Jacqueline left the second book on a cliff hanger…
Verdict: I can’t wait for the last book to come out.
Reviewed by Daisy (11)