Kindle Edition Amazon G J GriffithsWriter Amazon.com Amazon.uk Category:  Literary Fiction Publisher: Create Space ISBN-10:  1497423996 Type: Fiction Pages: 308 Copyright: April 2014 ISBN-13: 9781497423992 Price: $2.99 (eBook) NOW ONLY 0.99! Molly Pearson is a young Biology teacher with two passions in her life: a strong commitment to protecting wildlife; and a desire to encourage the children in her classes to feel the same enthusiasm for Nature. When her class decide they would like to restore the school’s neglected and vandalised nature corner her hopes are raised and challenged at the same time. Molly Pearson is a young Biology teacher with two passions in her life: a strong commitment to protecting wildlife; and a desire to encourage the children in her classes to feel the same enthusiasm for Nature. When her class decide they would like to restore the school’s neglected and vandalised nature corner her hopes are raised and challenged at the same time. The hurdles that she meets along the way will include bullied and bullying pupils, as well as the expected ones of finance and willing manpower. But leaping those fences does not prepare the ambitious Molly for a dramatic fire and the confusion of a new passion in her life, in the form of Oliver Shrimpton. Will he become that significant someone, or is he just another obstacle for her to overcome? G J Griffiths' latest novel, in the So What! series of stories, is still based firmly around the events that take place within the "walls" of Birch Green High School. It follows some of the trials and tribulations of Molly Pearson, a previous novice teacher who was mentored by Robert Jeffrey - the main character from the first book. Molly's efforts to spread the important message, about protecting wildlife and the natural environment, reflect something that has always been important to the author. For that reason some of the proceeds from the sales of this book will be donated to wildlife charities. Although this book is an exciting novel telling the story of schoolchildren who want to protect garden wildlife, it also contains several chapters towards the end with plenty of helpful information for lovers of nature, and who want to take a fresh look at making their garden a wildlife garden.   Excerpt PART ONE: NATURE’S CORNERS Chapter 1 Kirsty could feel the panic in her stomach rising to her throat and she felt sick with fear. The timid eleven year-old reluctantly held out her shaking hand towards the flame. The heat of the flickering flame warmed the back of her fingers and the wooden splint they held shook violently from side-to-side. Everyone was looking at her, boys were grinning and laughing, and that made it worse. ‘Come on, Kirsty,’ said Miss Pearson, tenderly. ‘It won’t hurt you if you’re careful.’ ‘I don’t care,’ shouted Kirsty, dropping the wooden splint and bursting into tears. ‘It might burn me!’ And with that she ran to the back of the classroom, sniffling and whimpering. The slightly-built girl with the pale complexion had not been entirely convinced by her teacher’s safety instructions. Yes, she had tied her light brown hair back into a pony-tail - away from any flames; yes, she had worn the oversized safety goggles - to protect her eyes. But no! No! No way was she going to believe the flame would not suddenly leap along the wooden splint to cause her terrible pain and permanent injury. Several of the children were sniggering. Miss Pearson told the rest of the class to settle down and wait while she went to Kirsty. ‘No-one else is to light their Bunsen burner till I say so. Just sit still for a minute.’ The large group of Year Seven pupils gathered around the teacher’s front workbench were whispering and glancing round at the terrified girl. Most were sat on tall wooden stools or the edge of the front row of pupil benches. It was their first lesson on using the Bunsen burner and they couldn’t wait for Miss Pearson to continue with the demonstration. ‘It’s all right, Kirsty. We can try again another day. Dry your eyes and come and watch someone else instead.’ When the others heard this a forest of hands shot up: Me, miss! Please miss can I go next? Me, miss… Me, miss – I’m not scared! Molly Pearson had not been teaching for very long and was regretting that, for her demonstration, she had unfortunately chosen the one child in the group who seemed to be afraid of fire. Next time, she resolved, I’ll ask for volunteers. The young woman checked that her own long auburn hair was still held back in a green and gold hair bobble, which she kept specially for practicals in the pocket of her lab coat. She was constantly aware of setting a good example in front of her young students. The white lab coat was several sizes too big for Molly and she had to roll the sleeves back to her wrists. It was patterned across the front with splotches of pink, green and yellow where various chemicals had splashed her. The baggy overall hid a trim figure and she could easily have been mistaken for one of the older girl pupils. Miss Pearson, however, was a very assertive and ambitious teacher of Science and it quickly became obvious, in any discussion, that here was a person who was anything but naďve, and who was not afraid to express her opinion. The rest of the lesson went very well, with few accidents that could be considered serious. Pools of water and melting ice cubes littered most of the bench surfaces and one or two exercise books were a bit soggy; the excited pupils had enjoyed the lesson, even Kirsty but she still refused to try with a Bunsen. Kirsty, Danny, Rory and Faithe always sat together and Miss Pearson pondered every lesson about splitting them up. There was very little confidence in their group but they did seem to get on well. All four of them had gone to Bluebrook Primary School. Faithe Dale, in contrast to Kirsty, her best friend, was quite a large girl for her age. Her mousy brown hair hung down in a greasy bob, and her chubby cheeks and stature often attracted taunts of fatty from several of the boys. Kirsty Wiseman, mousy in frame only, was ever ready to leap to Faithe’s defence and had a range of colourful insults to fling at the tormentors; which was probably why Kirsty had also become a target for torment. Yah! Butt out ya goofy little chipmunk! they yelled at her, referring to her overbite and the hated wire brace Kirsty wore. Miss Pearson approached their table to check on their tidiness after she had instructed the class to pack away quickly and mop up any mess. Rory was rubbing his forearm vigorously and mother-hen Kirsty was asking him what he had done to his skin. ‘I’ve done nothing I tell ya!’ said Rory. ‘Yes but…’ Kirsty paused when she saw Miss Pearson. ‘Have you hurt your arm, Rory?’ asked Miss Pearson. ‘Perhaps some hot water splashed from the beaker when it was boiling?’ She gently held his arm to look, thinking about whether she would need to complete her first accident report form since becoming a Science teacher. ‘No! It’s nothing! I keep telling ‘em, miss!’ Rory snatched his arm back from Miss Pearson and pulled down his sleeve. But Molly Pearson had already noticed the scratches, the scabs and dried blood, and knew for sure that those marks had not been done that afternoon. There were smears of fresh blood where Rory had been scratching at the wounds. The other three children just looked at their teacher and said nothing.

Nature and School, May 23, 2014
This review is from: So What's Next!: The Sequel to So What! Stories (Kindle Edition)

I received So What’s Next! free from the author in return for my review.
I enjoyed the story quite a bit. It took me back to my own school days a little bit though I never had the misfortune of being bullied to the extent of some of these kids. Being afraid to tell an adult what is going on because of the consequence of what would the bully do to you... These kids had a gang and were selling stolen items. But the story behind how they became the way they were was interesting and wasn’t left untold.

You can tell the main character Molly, loves teaching and children are very fortunate that there are teachers that do. I give teachers a lot of credit for having that kind of drive and patience. They make so much of a difference. Molly cares about the kids even setting up a club for the kids she knows are being picked on as an escape for them. Molly is passionate about nature and preserving it. She gets the kids interested in one of her lessons by having them build bird feeders and allowing votes to determine the winners that get to hang outside the classroom.
The book refers quite often to a bird hide. I had never heard of such a thing so I looked it up, and here is what I found :
A bird hide (or hide, also known as a blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters.
I am in the U.S. and knowing that the author is in the UK I thought it was a term that referred to something common in his area. Google even showed some photos.
Quite interesting, I never went to any schools here that had anything like the nature area the book describes.
Good job Mr. Griffiths! I really liked the book!

A wonderful tale about the beauty of both teaching and nature, October 2, 2014
This review is from: So What's Next!: The Sequel to So What! Stories (Volume 1) (Paperback)

This is the second novel in G.J. Griffiths So What series. It introduces a new character, a woman by the name of Molly Pearson who was mentored by Robert Jeffery, the teacher and main character in the first novel. So, What’s Next is a story about the happenings within Birch Green High School, focusing strongly on Molly’s trials and tribulations as a new teacher and the kinds of hurdles set before her in her first year of teaching.

Gone from this second book is the touch of humor that was found in the first one. In So, What’s Next, Griffiths expertly tackles the important topic of bullying, which leaves little room for light heartedness. Molly, while very green, is an ambitious and capable biology teacher. She cares about her students and walks a precarious tightrope between doing what’s best for these kids and providing them a place where they feel safe. The children in her care feel both scrutinized and loved at the same time, giving her the cold shoulder while also being grateful for her obvious concern. Molly is one of those exceptional teachers who teaches because she loves children. As previously stated, the humor is missing from this second book of the series, but it is not detrimental at all to the story. Griffiths has written an important novel here, and he’s done it with great care and finesse.

When school resumes after the Christmas holidays, Molly proposes repairing the abandoned and run down nature corner located on the school grounds. There is some grumbling, but the kids become more and more interested after Molly helps each one of them build their own bird feeders and they take an outing to a local nature park. Soon, the kids themselves decide that cleaning up the nature corner is a worthwhile idea. Little does anyone know that the derelict land is being used for other nefarious purposes.

To say more would surely ruin the surprise of the rest of the story and its remarkable conclusion. This book was a delight to read. Griffiths has written much of the dialogue in a way that American readers can hear the British accent being spoken, lending a colorful flair to the prose that was quite enjoyable. There are many turns of phrase that were not familiar to me, but entertaining all the same. Perhaps commonplace to another reader from the UK, but altogether different and intriguing to one who is used to American English.

I will admit that at first I thought perhaps Griffiths was trying to pull too much into this book. I wasn’t sure that he would be able to tie everything in as neatly as he did, but I should have had more faith in his storytelling abilities. So, What’s Next is a multi-layered tale where all of the character’s stories are told and Griffiths tells them beautifully.

Find a quiet corner read and enjoy!
This review is from: So What's Next!: The Sequel to So What! Stories (Kindle Edition)

G. J. Griffiths’ new book So What’s Next! is an engaging novel about a young science teacher, blue-eyed, brunette Molly Pearson, new to the Birch Green High School, who takes on the goal of replenishing and restoring a “nature corner” on the grounds of the school. Set in the UK, Birch Green, like many urban schools worldwide, doesn’t have plentiful funds for “extras” like a “nature corner.” The “corner” has a pond, brimful of old mattresses and junk, and a derelict bird hide. Griffiths describes the sequence from inspiration to planning to actual clean-up realistically and dramatically. Nothing is easy. It takes a huge effort to rouse support and overcome obstacles. Griffiths, a former science teacher himself, is adept at portraying the community of students, parents, teachers, and others who go in and out of Birch Green. The story is believable and natural, partly because Griffiths is so good at dialogue and partly because his story is so well plotted and suspenseful. He presents his characters doing their thing, whether good or bad, without judging them. I was reminded of the world of teachers and students shown in To Sir With Love, which I recently watched again. The students, parents, teachers, and school administrators are mostly stressed in one form or another. A lot happens. There is bullying, love gone awry, and nearly drowned baby hedgehogs (‘hoglets’). The environment is also suffering, as Griffiths reminds us. In the end, his book realizes the message of “think global, act local.” A diverse array of readers will find satisfaction in Griffiths’ book—from high school readers (YA) to parents and teachers to environmentalists interested in the description of how a community acts to restore a “nature corner.”