Mummy's Little Soldier: A Troubled Child. An Absent Mum. A Shocking Secret.

By: Casey Watson

Narrated by: Kate Lock

Casey’s Unit is, as ever, full of troubled, disaffected pupils, and new arrival Leo is something of a conundrum.

Thirteen year old Leo isn’t a bad lad – in fact, he’s generally polite and helpful, but he’s in danger of permanent exclusion for repeatedly absconding and unauthorised absences. Despite letters being sent home regularly, his mother never turns up for any appointments, and when the school calls home she always seems to have an excuse.

Though Casey has her hands full, she offers to intervene for a while, to try get Leo engaged in learning again and remaining in school. The head’s sceptical though and warns her that this is Leo’s very last chance. But Casey’s determined, because there’s something about Leo that makes her want to fight his corner, and get to the bottom of whatever it is that compels this enigmatic boy to keep running away. With Leo so resolutely tight-lipped and secretive, Casey knows that if she’s going to keep this child in education, she’s going to have to get to the bottom of it herself…

©2016 Casey Watson (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

nice story, I'm done with the narrator.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I didn't finish this book once I found out what was going on with Leo and my curiosity was satisfied.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Kate Lock, the narrator, over. enunciated. e-vvv-eeee-rrrrrrrr-yyyyyy little. word. I had the speed at 1.25x and it was still getting really annoying. I tried increasing the speed to 1.5x but the extreme differences in the volume of her voice causes words at the end of sentences to drop out entirely at this speed. She tends to under-enunciate the last few words of every sentence in a lower voice.

On top of the over-enunciating, she has a contrived cadence - it sounds like she's reading a mother goose fairy tale to a toddler, and is trying to keep the child's attention by sounding surprised or sing-song-y.I have another audio book by Casey Watson which is also narrated by Kate Lock "Runaway Girl" which I will keep because I found the story interesting enough that the narration does not detract from it too much. Mummy's Little Soldier is not about one child, but multiple children with the central arc around Leo. As the story is more complex and nuanced, I found the narrator especially frustrating as her style of narration makes every character sound exactly the same, which makes a multiple-character story line difficult to follow because you have to pay attention to the names of the people who are speaking. I am going to avoid books read by this narrator in the future.

Not my favorite

The narrator sounded so sanctimonious. It drove me nuts. It was painful to listen to.

Great book but not great reader

This is another great story of how a classroom teacher can make a difference getting at the bottom of things with the student. Helping the student move forward, and etc. However, I can hardly stand the reader heard voice inflection goes up-and-down up-and-down and she emphasizes odd parts of sentences it was very difficult to get through because of that.

Soooooooo gooooooood ¡!!!!!!!!!!??

As usual, reading Casey's book a makes me a kinder, better person. Enthralling book.

Would have like to have heard the whole story

The story honestly made me feel a bit sorry for the kids in her class that Casey didn't choose.

Obviously, Leo was the pet project for the year. But what about the other kids in her class. Maybe if Carl had gotten more individual attention his 1st placement wouldn't have been so bumpy and he and his brother wouldn't have been so angry.

And poor Ria, sure it might have helped her learn to be more nurturing, but what about her testing and potential. For all accounts, prior to her struggles with sexuality, she was a bright kid with a lot of potential. I felt like her needs got shoved to the back burner.

Finally there was Daryl, who, obviously, could have benefited from more individualized care, but it seems as if the aide, Kelly, spent a good deal of time handling the class, while Casey was out sleuthing.

great story

this book was delightful! I didn't want to stop listening til it was finished. my only issue is that most of Casey's books are not for sale in the US. Please let us know when they become available. thanks.

Narrator makes it impossible to listen

The narrator's way of telling the story is with too much drama in the voice! Sounds fake, which is a pain.

Disappointing

The cadence of the narrator was bothersome. I agree with another rater that it was very sing songy- like it was a fantasy land story that was being read to a small child. I could have possibly gotten over this, but the way that the teacher verbally attacked the child for being late instead of handling the situation with compassion. I was blown away at how she portrayed the kids in her classroom. These behaviors are very common amongst children with disabilities and other challenges. I have read many, many books in this same category and the writers have been able to easily paint a picture in the writers mind without degrading behaviors or making their job appear to be a crazy circus. I am sure this teacher has a big heart with wonderful intentions but there is a personality type and experience level that is needed to excel in this kind of job. Maybe I am judging too soon because I only got through until half of chapter 8 and it was distressing me too much to hear about the errors she was making and how that poor child must feel.

On another note, the personal life drama about her coworker could have been shortened, if not, eliminated from the story altogether. I get that it was what was going on during that time of the writers life but it was overly stated to the point that it was uncomfortable.

Im very disappointed as I have finished all the books from few others that I adore who mostly do foster care for children with challenging behaviors and I was hoping to find a new author on the same level