| Lindsay
Frazier, The Guardian Educational Supplement: "Books for Children"
"Sophie Large was killed, aged
19, in a car crash. In her memory, her parents have published many of her letters,
poems, diary entries and even emails in order to raise funds for Sophie's Silver
Lining Fund, which supports young would-be actors and singers. Sophie's Log (£7
inc p&p from TheLarges@aol.com) presents a picture of a caring, committed, delightful
and very human being. Teenagers will find their own worlds reflected in her thoughts,
her enthusiasms and her sadder moments." Jane
Kelly, Daily Mail
"When a nineteen
year old girl died in a car crash, her family found her private writings. Her
haunting words will touch the heart of every reader."
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Joanna
Trollope
"This
is an extraordinary and moving anthology. It is extraordinary because it is so
transparently honest. The writing in it is by a girl who had a remarkable self
knowledge and a quiet self-confidence from a very young age. It is moving not
simply because of the inexpressibly sad fact that Sophie is dead, but even more
because it reveals those joys and despairs and hopes and longings that most people
lack the courage to reveal - reading these pages makes one feel the honoured recipient
of Sophie's trust. She was plainly someone of considerable and varied emotional
depth, great imagination, great sweetness and charm and - this comes out above
all and illuminates the book - a huge relish for life. As a consequence, her log
is full of energy that will be, in the end I think, her most vivid testimonial.
The whole book is proof - if proof were ever needed for such a thing - that nothing
lovely is never wasted. It will give heart to the young who, like her, have set
their hearts on a special and difficult path in life; and comfort to all those
who need to know that, even after a desperate grief, life can be worth living
again."Susan
Hill, The Mail on Sunday
"Teenage
dreams that touch the soul - her writings are a way into her mind and heart. She
speaks directly to our adult memories of what it is like to be a teenager. That's
why her book is so important." Gillian
Clarke, The Times Educational Supplement
"Sophie's Log
is an unusual book. Sophie Large was killed in a road accident when she was 19.
Here are 27 poems, with notebook extracts, letters, journal entries and e-mails
to friends, arranged chronologically. Most collected works gathered in memoriam
by a family for a dead child or spouse make poor reading, but this book is as
appealing as a diary. Although this is not a classic - such as the Diary of Anne
Frank - it appeals for its ordinariness, for expressing the inner life of a typical,
though brighter-than-average, girl, from the word-loving child to the ambitious
would-be theatre director who fails to get into Oxford. Sophie's ambition, breathless
excitements, disappointments and despairs, the lists of her successes and reasons
for happiness rehearsed in letters in letters to parents and grandparents, recall
the young Sylvia Plath." Juliet
Townsend, childrens' book reviewer, The Spectator
"Sophie Large
comes alive in her own pages as a strong and unusual personality; imaginative,
observant, energetic and thoughtful. She is an excellent and lively letter writer
with an unusual gift for writing interestingly, about ideas as well as events.
Her zest and energy are infectious and do something to explain the impact her
loss had on all those who knew her. No life can be more than absolutely full -
Sophie's short life was as full or fuller than many which have lasted four times
as long. In this collection we can see her developing from the derivative writing
of early childhood to find her own voice - a voice which sings." |
