The Park

David and his best friend Mike are looking forward to the long hot summer holidays after the end of school. Their plans mostly involve lots of time spent in their favourite place in the world, the local park. However, on the first day of the holidays the arrival of a new next-door neighbour (in the shape of a girl) threatens to unhinge their perfectly planned summer. The girl next door turns out to be Caris, a clever but troubled girl who eventually befriends them. As the story progresses we learn that each of the children has been subjected to different types of bullying, and each of them has felt like an outsider in different ways. It is this experience that draws them closer together, and helps them find true friendship in each other.
David and Mike are desperate for adventure, but soon adventure becomes all too real, as with Caris’s help, the two boys begin to discover that the Park they love so much contains a mystery, a secret that has remained hidden for nearly six hundred years. As they unearth the true nature of the Park’s mysteries they also discover that the friendly and enigmatic park gardener, Dan, is not quite as he appears. Before long all three of the children are caught up in a whirlwind of events involving a mysterious shadowy army, and an ancient battle between light and dark, good and evil. Their trust and loyalty to Dan, and to each other, is tested to the extreme, but none more so than David, who discovers the true nature of power, and the dangers inherent within it.
The Park is a thrilling adventure story aimed at children aged between 8 and 12, though an enjoyable read for children of 30+ as well!