Anything could be hiding behind a book with a title like this. A novel's title usually gives us some clue what the book is about. But not here. Even the bathroom wall-papery cover gives nothing away. What are we going to read about, and do we want to read it? Using a well-worn cliche like this for the title of a book could show a lack of imagination, could be a trick, could be laziness. There is only one thing to do. Read it to see if the title fits. It's make-your-own-mind-up time. In fact, Rachel Billington's There's More To Life is an undemanding mystery that does not quite convince. The hero is a not very interesting teenager, and that is part of the novel's problem. Ned is just plain boring, and does not draw you into his story at all. Billington has written 16 adult novels, but by placing an instantly forgettable character at the centre of the story, it feels like a first novel. The book is an easy read and when you've finished it the question 'So what?' will be in your mind. Like finishing an unsatisfying meal, you will want to tuck into something tastier and a lot more substantial when you finish. The set-up in There's More To Life is an old and well-tested one. Take a teenager and, through a series of circumstances beyond his control, isolate him and make spooky things happen. Put your teenager in peril, and you have a winning formula. A clever author can push readers to the edge of their seats with this formula. But Ned is not interesting enough to worry about. We don't care what happens to him, so we are unaware of any suspense the writer tries to make us feel. Readers of There's More To Life will not be biting their fingernails when Ned is in danger because he is not interesting enough for us to be concerned. Boarding school pupil Ned has to decide where to spend a two-week holiday. His parents are in Australia and he is in the UK, so going home is out of the question. He can either spend the two weeks with his cousin who he doesn't really like, or he can go and stay with old Great-Aunt Ellen who lives alone in a cottage by the sea. The Aunt Ellen option wins hands down. But when Ned arrives at the cottage, he finds an ambulance carting poor Aunt Ellen off to hospital. What can he do? He has no choice but to break into the cottage and stay there alone. A lonely boy all alone in an isolated cottage by the sea: this is certainly a recipe for mysterious goings-on. Soon there are strange noises during the night, and the ghost of a girl makes a friendly appearance. A young girl on the run and an odd old man in the house next door join the party. And outside, a terrible storm is brewing and soon the cottage is being lashed with wind and rain. Billington stirs up all her ingredients slowly and carefully, but that page-turning element is missing. There's More To Life ends up as a weak story that promises more than it actually delivers. There's More To Life By Rachel Billington Published by Hodder Children's Books ISBN 0 340 88247 6 John Millen can be contacted on MillenBookshelf@aol.com
