06 January 2018

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell


This story is just so moving. It’s the only way I can describe it.  I don’t normally cry when I read a book, ok maybe inside, but I had to let my emotions flow after reading Rooftoppers.

As stories go, this is a pretty good one. I first read it quite a while ago, probably when I was about eight, but have re-read it since and enjoyed it more than I did previously. This may be to do with the fact that I knew of some of the content, but I think I also understand things like adoption and guardianship much better now, which both play key parts in this novel.

The novel begins with a flashback of sorts, informing the reader of how Charles became Sophie’s guardian. It is around one chapter long, but later on in the book, some of the information in it is referred back to so don’t skip it!

Sophie is one of the only known survivors of a shipwreck that took place on what was probably her first birthday. Charles Maxim found her, wrapped in a Beethoven symphony, floating inside a cello case. Everyone tells Sophie she was orphaned in the shipwreck, but she is convinced her mother also survived the ordeal.

On a midnight outing, Sophie encounters Matteo, a boy who lives in the sky and runs across rooftops. Soon Sophie joins him and some fellow rooftoppers to try and find Sophie’s mother, before it’s too late.

This story can be boiled down to one moral. Charles reiterates this to Sophie and she uses it to convince him to help her search. I bet you can’t guess? Never ignore a ’possible’.

This expression is very motivating and a beautiful story has been weaved around it. Filled with emotion, like the different colours of wool, this book is one I will never forget.

FictionFan1 Rating: 9.5/10

If you liked this author you might like: Rebeca Stead, E.BWhite 

About the author: Katherine Rundell writes teen and adult fiction and was inspired for this novel by summers spent working in Paris, where this story is set, but also her own experiences, trespassing on the roofs of Oxford university.

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for next review of The 1000 Year Old Boy by Ross Welford

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