Queen Narelle by Sally Murphy illustrated by Simon O'Carrigan

I am Narelle.

Narelle is me.

I am the Queen of this place.

Ruler of the domain.

Keeper of the kingdom.

You would do well to know it

and pay me due respect.

Queen Narelle is the family cat and she knows she is truly the Queen of this Kingdom. Her servants (mum, dad, Maddie and even baby Will) mostly understand Narelle and her daily needs - food, hugs, time outside in her run, and of course someone to attend to her toilet box. 

In alternating voices, after meeting Narelle with her pompous entitled tone, we then meet young Maddie. Things are going badly at school. She has had a falling out with her two, supposed best, friends and now they won't talk to her and worse they seem to be spreading rumours about her with the rest of the class. Her family seem too busy to listen but at least Narelle can see something is badly wrong. Maddie suffers so much at school each day and at night she cries in her room. For all her superior ways, Narelle realises mum needs to talk to Maddie, so instead of running to her food dish in the kitchen she waits with Maddie until mum comes looking for her and this gives Maddie and Mum, finally, a chance to talk about school. The answer to the bullying is not simple but mum gives Maddie some strategies and mum also goes to school to privately talk with the teacher. 

The end of the story is hopeful but not unrealistic. Maddie will need to reach out to others and be brave enough to take new steps to find different friends.

This is a junior verse novel for readers aged 8+. I loved the distinct voices of Narelle and Maddie. As with all good verse novels, Sally Murphy tugs at our emotions. This beautifully balanced against the antics of little Will who calls Narelle 'Relle. He just wants to chase her.

The smallest, noisy one

adores me loudly,

following me for hours,

calling my name and wanting to carry me.

The verses are upbeat at times, but also have a heaviness at times that give a sense of what so many of us go through at all stages in our lives, and how hard it is to lose friends and to have friendships end – sometimes over silly little things, sometimes because we just grow apart. The Book Muse

Here are a couple more text quotes to give you a flavour of this book:

And they do not see

the midnight dreams that disturb

My Maddie,

making her toss

and turn

in her bed.

But I see it all.

...

My Maddie is not asleep.

She is very much awake,

crying silent tears

into her pillow.

I think she needs some love.

Her are some other verse novels by Sally Murphy:

Worse Things

Pearl verses the World

Toppling