Hartley by Martine Murray Case

The slightly true story of Cedar B Hartley by Martine Murray is about a girl named Cedar who has many talents that she uses to her advantage. Through this book you get to see Cedar develop as a person. She goes through good and bad times and experiences the same things that girls her age face today. Cedar has a wide imagination; this makes her who she is. In the book she faces many problems that she overcomes and takes advantage of many opportunities, some of which I will describe. Through this she has a new perspective on life.

When Cedar's dog went missing it seemed that this was when all her problems and opportunities began. Stinky was a lost dog that was found down by the creek by Cedar's brother Barnaby. Stinky was very smelly and when Barnaby bought him home Stinky made a bit of a mess in the house. Ms Hartley was not going to allow Stinky to stay but Barnaby talked her into it. One day when Cedar came home from school Stinky wasn't there. Cedar loved Stinky a whole lot and when he wasn't home she felt empty as if the one thing she counted on when she comes home had gone. Cedar and her friend Ricci, who lives down the street, went around the neighbourhood looking for him. They didn't find Stinky so Cedar put up flyers with a picture of Stinky and left a phone number on it. Soon enough a boy named Kite rang and met her down by the creek. This was an opportunity as she had a chance to meet a new friend and that was exactly what happened. Kite and Cedar spent lots of time together doing what they both enjoy, acrobatics. (You can read about this in chapters 2 and 4.)

Cedar sometimes felt very lonely, especially when her brother Barnaby got sent away to a boarding school. To add to this, Cedar's dad had passed away a long time ago and Ms Hartley works long hours and doesn't get home till late. Although she felt lonely Cedar still had many wonderful friends that helped her take her mind off it. She has Ricci who is like family to her. Ricci is very supportive and is always there for Cedar. Carmella is Cedar's best friend and she is kind, caring and helpful. In the book she meets a boy named Kite who's a bit shy but try's his hardest to help Cedar. She also meets Oscar who helps her to see the best in people or bad situations. Evidence on page 48.

Ricci's dog Bambi was in need of a $500 dollar operation in order to survive. Ricci didn't have this kind of money and was terribly upset as she loves Bambi very much. Recently Kite and Cedar had been spending a lot of time doing acrobatics. Kite's parents had performed in a circus and he learnt many tricks from them. Cedar had a great idea, and told Kite that they could do a circus show to raise money for Bambi's operation. Kite and Cedar started training straight away and they asked Carmella and Oscar to join them. Although Oscar and Carmella weren't very acrobatic they put their