Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?

"It was as if her friend had never existed."

Writer: Rupert Laight

Format: Novel

Released: November 2008

Series: SJA Novelisation 05

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Maria, Clyde

Synopsis

Life on Earth can be an adventure, too. You just need to know where to look.

Maria wakes up to discover that everyone apart from her has forgotten Sarah Jane ever existed. As she tries to find out what has happened to her friend, Maria gets caught up in a bizarre twist of time. An alien creature changed events in Sarah Jane's past, imprisoning her in some kind of limbo. Will her friends be able to rescue her and set time back on the right course...?

Verdict

Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? was an excellent novelisation of The Sarah Jane Adventures story of the same name! This is something of an instant classic for me and it's a story I have watched on screen so many times, so to read it was a very good experience. I have actually owned this book physically since not long after it was released, and here we are seventeen years later finally reading it. That feels ludicrous but it is absolute fact! I think it's so fun that these earl SJA stories were novelised in true traditional Target form and it's a shame that New Who took so long to catch up! I was honestly stunned looking back at my blog entry of nine years ago for the on screen story that I didn't give it full marks as I think that must require a rewatch one day after reading this. It's just an excellent story from start to finish. I think the concept is magnificent and the way things started with a prologue here dating back to 1964 and the start of the school trip that would prove so pivotal to the plot was magnificent. There wasn't too much else in terms of deviations or add ons from what we saw on screen which is absolutely fine, but I really did appreciate the internal dialogue. That really helped further sell the impact events were having on Maria and Alan. The latter has a superb story and it's easily the best for his character. From showing off his skateboarding skills to Clyde and then clashing with Chrissie over their lost daughter, he really does go through it all here. Perhaps not to the scale of Maria, but whilst she loses her friend from across the road I'm not sure she would feel as lost and hopeless as her dad in losing his daughter. I think the threat of the meteor crashing to Earth is brilliant and purely because of what the Trickster said. Sarah Jane wanted to know why he was doing what he was and whilst the likes of the Bane and the Slitheen were out for revenge or profit in neat references to Invasion of the Bane and Revenge of the Slitheen, this meteor was pure chaos. The destruction of the Earth by pure chance. That was just sublime with the Trickster being involved. I adore the concept behind him as a character and he does become the defining villain of the entire spinoff series. I think the use of the Graske in the story is a good injection of comedy and I get the sense from reading the book that he is offered more as something of light relief and humour in what is otherwise a pretty dark and emotional adventure for a children's show! The scenes back in 1964 and actually seeing Sarah Jane as a teenager is just wonderful. Her relationship with Andrea was established on the bus journey as Sarah Jane following the law and her teacher's instructions, whereas she was more interested in going where was off limits. If she wanted to see Westport pier, then no repair works were going to stop her. The accident is rather horrifying and presented so well here, but the idea of swapping places to save a life is not actually something I found all that surprising. I know for a fact I'd do the same thing. How could you not? Andrea's reaction to hearing the name Sarah Jane Smith in her elderly life and on her birthday was great stuff and set things on course for correction. The use of the soothsayer's box to protect the memory of Sarah Jane and Maria is convenient but it just works, especially with Andrea having one too. I liked the use of the mirror too to see into the realm of nothingness. That worked just as well in prose. I do think the picture pages inserted into the story were a tad random, but they do help with a reminder of the visuals! I think the live news report for details on the meteor are amusing because who is really staying to do their job when they report that the end of the world is ten minutes away? I think the use of guilt to get Andrea to go back on her deal was really well done and it became a very emotional ending as we saw Andrea back in the position of clinging on for life at the pier before plummeting to her death. It's incredible really! The mad dash to get Mr Smith to save the planet after everything was restored to normality was really exciting to finish things and conclude what was a tremendous read! I loved it.

Rating: 10/10