Taking down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosa
Wakefield Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781743056974.
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. Always getting into trouble, temper
flaring and hyperactive, Lottie reacts and says things she shouldn't
and invariable ends up in the principal's office. Not that she
cares, she has developed a free and easy manner with Jerry, or Mr
Virk as the other students know him, and enjoys her time on the
couch in front of his desk. She doesn't understand how everyone in
the school seems to be sucked in by Miss Perfect, Evelyn Tait, the
girl intent on undermining her and turning her life upside down. Now
Lottie faces suspension - unless she can work out a plan, turn the
tables, and become more perfect than Miss Perfect. Her long-time
childhood buddy Jude, the boy across the balcony from her apartment
building, encourages her to become nicer and kinder than Evelyn, and
expose Evelyn's insincerities.
Lottie is a very loveable character, she charges through this story,
unaware of her impact on others, the long suffering Jude, her
steadfast best friend Grace, even her own family, in disarray
following her parent's divorce and father's remarriage. The
challenge from Jude, originally motivated by Lottie's vengeance
towards Evelyn, gradually becomes a new way of behaving, and perhaps
Lottie will finally discover the true meaning of 'sonder', the
realisation that others have a life as complex as one's own.
I read this book in one sitting; the main characters drew me in so
easily, and I wanted to know what happened. While some of the themes
are very familiar - vengeance against the mean girl, rebellion
against the step-parent, the childhood friend who turns into a
boyfriend - the way they are explored in this novel seems very true
to life, and it is so well written. This is not a thriller in the
style of The
twin by Natasha Preston, though the two books share many
themes, Taking down Evelyn Tait is very grounded in real
life, sharing more with the loveable You
must by Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied.
Nwosa's book is a sympathetic study of divided families, LGBQTI+
relationships, and developing teenage identity learning to negotiate
relationships with others. I thoroughly recommend this book for
adolescent readers.
Themes: Rivalry, Divorce, Kindness, Friendship, Love.
Helen Eddy