We Come Apart – Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

I loved this novel from beginning to end and thought it was one of the best books I’d read for a while. So, I waited for a few weeks before I wrote this review, just in case that feeling wore off. It didn’t. Jointly authored by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan, We Come Apart is a clever little book, combining voice and verse beautifully.

We Come Apart is the story of a London mascara-stealing girl and a Roma gypsy-boy immigrant who unexpectedly find themselves on the same community service programme. Through their contrasting perspectives and homelives, the novel deftly explores racism, nationalism, criminality, friendships and belonging.

The two distinct voices of Nicu and Jess are captured perfectly by the pairing of Crossan and Conaghan’s very different styles. You are in no doubt which character is speaking. Nicu’s voice takes a little getting used to but it’s possibly my highlight of the novel.

Perfect for fans of The Weight of Water, One and Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English.

It’s out in hardback in Feb 2017. If you’re not a hardback buyer, jot this one down for its paperback release. You’ll not forget about it because it’ll be turning up in all the award listings, I’m sure.

Publication details: 9 February 2017, Bloomsbury, London, hardback

This copy: uncorrected proof received from the publisher for review

The Bone Sparrow – Zana Fraillon

The Bone Sparrow - Zana Fraillon

As far as refugee novels go, The Bone Sparrow presents an unusual perspective as it harnesses both the charming naivete of a young narrator as well as the world of dystopian novels: what if you were born inside a refugee detention centre and this was your bubble? And what if everybody else who lived with you didn’t see things inside the bubble as positively and magically as you do?

Sweet Pizza - GR Gemin

Sweet Pizza by G R Gemin

Sweet Pizza - GR Gemin

Sweet Pizza is a heartwarming novel about a 14 year old boy who develops a vision to keep his family heritage alive, and he learns a lot about community spirit and efforts along the way.

I was attracted by the plot, which was based not on a thrilling page-turner, but rather a young teen boy’s attempt at saving his family’s Italian café on a small Welsh village’s high street. This was interwoven with a sub-plot – told as an oral history by Joe’s Nonno - about Italian immigrants during WWII. The sub-plot added a riveting and deeper dimension to what is already a charming and comic story.

The plot is feel-good and generous-hearted. It abounds with loveable characters: entrepreneurial Joe (is he a Welsh-Italian or an Italian-Welsh?), Nonno (Joe’s grandfather), Combi (Joe’s best friend who has a very mixed-Caribbean heritage), and Mimi (the bellissima Italian cooking cousin).

The novel overflows with family love, community spirit, oral history, food, Italian communication, opera, Polish sausage, immigrants and the problems facing many small town high streets. There are also quite a few pages about cooking – and even some recipes at the back – so perfect for aspiring Jamie Olivers.

Interestingly, the story depicts many of the teenage characters as being more open to each other and new ideas, as well as embracing their history and traditions.

This middle grade story perfectly captures the normal everyday contributions that immigrants add to a community, and weaves this into a charmingly funny little story.

Sweet Pizza gets a thumbs up.

Publication details:

Nosy Crow, London, 2016, paperback

This copy: review copy from the publisher

Sweet Pizza has been nominated for the 2017 Carnegie Medal.

Close To the Wind - Jon Walter

Close to the Wind by Jon Walter

Review by M

 

Close to the Wind came to me as the first book proof from the newly independent (not newly established) David Fickling Books. Being a ‘fan’ of their previous novels and authors, I have waited in anticipation for this ‘launch’ title – and it’s a good all rounder!

Close to the Wind is about a boy and his grandfather who are seeking refuge from a war torn country. The peacekeepers are coming and Malik and Papa will need to catch a ship – but they don’t have tickets yet. Quietly and warmly told, this debut novel had me holding my breath, closing my eyes, smiling, rooting and crying.

Using an occasional light touch, Close to the Wind deals sensitively with big and traumatic issues and themes, like lies and truth, and sacrifice. An adventurous story is delivered that will delight readers from about age 8 upwards. This is a middle grade novel that deals in hope and is not afraid to reward the reader with it. Gorgeous.

 

Publication details: 3 July 2014, David Fickling Books, Oxford, hardback

This copy: uncorrected proof from the publisher (& dedicated, signed and embossed!)

 

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And here are some pics of that very special book proof 1!

 

The whole package

 

Reverse of the card

 

 

 

Embossed page: DFB Where Good Stories Begin


 

 

 

 

 

 

The Book of Unknown Americans - Cristina Henriquez

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez

 

Review by M (adult fiction)

 

The Book of Unknown Americans is a immigration story. I will never tire of these. This one is especially tender and it's also a little different to some of the others that I have read.
 

The novel puts ‘parents doing their best for their children’ at its heart. The main plot follows the Rivera family who leave a life that they love in Mexico in order for their teen daughter, Maribel, to attend a special needs school in the USA. They arrive in Delaware to find that their new home is in a bare grey apartment building in the middle of nowhere.

From here on, the novel really is The Book of Unknown Americans and it follows this premise in both its narrative structure and in its plot. While the plot of the Rivera family (how they came to be here and how they get on) brings flow to the novel, it’s the apartment building residents and a tragically bittersweet coming-of-age tale that really bring the novel to life.

The chapters are narrated by different characters, and all of them are people who are South American immigrants residing in the same block as the Riveras. Some of these chapters add to the development of the main plot but a few of them are an aside, where the character simply tells us how they came to live here – and their stories are all so different yet so similar too. In this way, a varied and moving picture of immigration is created. Mixed in with all the poverty and sorrows, there is a lot of joy, and hope, and life.

The UK cover (pictured here) fittingly combines the tone, hue and themes of the novel: a variety of South American people with their hopes, dreams, stories and labours holding up America. This is the statue of liberty as we don’t usually see it, with its added textured colours giving life to what is often just a grey structure.

 

Publication details: 5 June 2014, Canongate, Edinburgh, trade paperback

This copy: for review from the publisher

 

 

 

Phoenix - SF Said

Phoenix by SF Said

Review by M

Phoenix is a soaring space quest story packed full of starry action, adventure, science, myth, colourful characters and wowsome illustrated pages. It’s a compelling and beautiful pageturner.

Lucky’s world on Phoenix is falling apart: he doesn’t know his dad, he’s lost his mum in more ways than one, he’s carrying some illegal kit while the sky is splitting apart and discovers that unmentionable things are happening to him when he’s asleep and dreaming. All of this happens in the middle of an ongoing inter-celestial battle between the Humans and the enemy Aliens (horn-headed, hoof-footed Axxa). On top of this, Lucky’s off on a quest to find his dad and the best way it seems to do this is to hitch a rocket ride with a bunch of very frightening Aliens. They eat eyeballs, you know! The ride is very bumpy and there are all sorts of deceptions and revelations along the way. There are numerable sad losses too.

Author SF Said writes Lucky’s space quest adventure in engaging and occasionally mesmerising words that are vividly enhanced by pages of beguiling illustrations (thanks to illustrator Dave McKean). As the quest progresses and we learn more about Lucky and his dangerous power, we also learn that there are twelve ‘gods’ who will be unable to save the celestial world from the wolf that eats the stars. A second quest ensues and yes, some aspects of the plot are a bit contrived and coincidental.



12 doublespreads like this depicting the 'gods'/Astraeus

Skirting the action-adventure of the quest and just beneath its shiny but grimy sci-fi surface, the novel explores themes of race, religion, deception, right and wrong, choice, and war. More than anything, Phoenix is a pacifist’s heaven that rings the peace message loudly: war, war is stupid......but very complicated too. Unexpectedly, the novel also injects some deep-seated and properly bittersweet romantic elements too. A satisfying but heartbreaking resolution becomes beautiful and slightly teary.

Overall, this is an exciting story weaving together multiple sub-plots and sub-texts in a way that should make much of it readily accessible to young readers. There are also many plot elements that point towards the potential for numerous allegorical interpretations. Those that sprung to mind for me were many religious stories, particularly the Age of Aquarius, and also Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. There are plenty of shadows and deceptions in Phoenix! Unravelling and linking all these allegorical clues can be a lot of fun for the readers, and even young ones will spot some of these.

For colourful characters, apart from Lucky, my heart was taken by Bixa Quicksilver, an Astral Martial Arts fighter with glowing needles in her hair; a couple of old-wizened Startalkers; and Bazooka, a phoenix.

Unusually, I’d also highly recommend watching the book trailer before reading: it’s just the opening pages of the book being read aloud but it is completely captivating and sets a beautiful, glowing tone to the novel.

Following the navigational quest theme, I don’t need an astronomer nor a mariner’s astrolabe to know that for me, Phoenix is this year’s A Boy anda Bear in a Boat. My hunch is that it will attract a much broader story loving audience, especially among newly confident readers who hunger for the thrills often housed in whopping big tomes.

  

Publication details: David Fickling Books, August 2013, Oxford, hardback

This copy: received for review from the publisher



This video is made up of the illustrations that appear in the book! Pages and pages of them.....

We Need New Names - M's review

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Adult fiction review by M

 

This novel slipped its hands around my throat and the bruises won’t fade to pale that quickly.  I suspect it will never fully let go.

We Need New Names tackles the displacement that has become part of our contemporary global landscape.  Set just a few years back in post-2005 Zimbabwe, it is narrated by Darling, a 10 year old girl who lives in a Paradise shantytown shack and dreams of escaping to an American paradise.  The novel follows Darling and her friends until she is about fourteen (or fifteen) although there is a section that suggests it follows her for many years after that as the latter chapters follow a distinctly non-linear chronology. It seems appropriate to post this review during Refugee Week.

Wonderfully, this is a novel whipped with the complexities of African identities in a post-colonial and globalised world and its most compelling theme is that of contemporary displacement, a theme that will resonate with many readers. The formation of the informal settlements is the first displacement that takes place – in Darling’s life – and a few more follow. At some point the novel asks what is home and reminds us that when someone is talking about home we need to listen very carefully to hear which paradise they are actually talking about.  We Need New Names is not only about physical displacements of home, it is about lives, countries, systems falling apart until we don’t know which part of the broken Coca-Cola glass bottle we are. Where some books get under your skin, We Need New Names snakes right in and tugs at every essence.

Aside from displacement, We Need New Names will appeal to anyone interested in Zimbabwe. The novel deals with power and corrupt leadership, religious beliefs and customs, cultural mores, childhood values, land ownership, AIDS, race, language and the pains of self-imposed exile. It is a painful read with many disturbing scenes. Darling’s voice is occasionally reminiscent of Harrison in Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English.

While this is up there with some of my favourite post-colonial African writing like The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (Ayi Kwei Armah) and Nervous Conditions (Tsitsi Dangarembga), intriguingly We Need New Names also reminded me of The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (especially one chapter). Because the clause "things fall apart" repeatedly crops up in We Need New Names, I have also been prompted to start a re-read of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (since writing this review but prior to its posting, I have finished the Achebe and highly recommend reading these two novels together. A parallel review of Things Fall Apart is coming up...).  Younger teen readers may like to read Now is the Time for Running (Michael Williams) which is a novel about similar issues around Zimbabwe and exile.

I’m very keen to see what NoViolet Bulawayo does next.

NoViolet Bulawayo left Zimbabwe when she was eighteen and now lives in the USA.

 

Some asides (may be a bit SPOILERY – but only a teeny bit):

• I don’t think Zimbabwe is ever named in the novel, nor is its political leader.
• Once again, dogs get a raw deal in this novel: ouch.
• Although quickly replaced, Darling is also permanently remembered: another ouch.
• Remember: oranges are definitely not the only fruit – there are guavas too.

 

Publication details: Chatto & Windus, June 2013, hardback

This copy: digital copy received for review from the publisher

 

 

 

 

 

The Weight of Water - M's review

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

 

The Weight of Water has been nominated for the 2013 Carnegie medal. It is a quick and enchanting read, and I really can’t recommend it highly enough. I read it a few weeks back, made some notes and now....I actually can't fault it. Amazing.

The Weight of Water tells a contemporary tale about twelve year old Kasienka. She travels with her mother from Poland to England. They are in search of her father and have little money. The unwinding story is a familiar bildungsroman of a twelve year old immigrant who is the new girl in school trying to understand and form her own identity. Within this story, the main plot with its heavy themes of bullying, loss and immigration are lightly buoyed  by the sweet-and-scary joys of pursuing  interests, love and the prospects of newfound  happiness.

What makes this story truly beautiful though, is the way it is told. The Weight of Water consists of a set of poems. Its form takes a poetic shape but uses narrative prose to great effect. At first, I was alarmed when I saw the unfamiliar shape of poetry lines in the pages of this novel rather than the familiar chunks of paragraphs. But, the writing has a beguiling rhythm which adds a simple but beautiful flow to what is an easy story to follow. It is an engrossing story that you’ll read easily in a single sitting. Or in little bits if that’s what you prefer.

The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

Here are some of my further thoughts about the book in relation to the Carnegie shadowing criteria that we're using:

My first impression of Kasienka was that she was a good girl who felt loved and loved her family – although she felt terrible that her dad had left them. She seemed like a pleasant child who tried hard and was content. The descriptions of Kasienka’s thoughts, looks, behaviour are all very plausible and aspects of them are likely to be familiar to most people, especially twelve year old but nearly thirteen year olds girls.

Many of the main characters change as the novel progresses. While the plot is important and strong, the main focus is on how the main characters in this novel, Kasienka and her mother, adapt to their changing environment and relationships in England.

Kasienka has important relationships with a number of adults and students at school. Some of these relationships are positive and supportive, others are more negative. Many of these relationships change.

Despite the poetry, the language (vocabulary and syntax) is straightforward. The story dives straight in with Kasienka and her mother leaving Poland with just an old suitcase and a laundry bag. From the first page, you know already that this change in their life is not going to be easy.

The Weight of Water is told from Kasienka’s point of view. There is very little dialogue with other characters but there is a lot of internal dialogue. There is also a lot of description which helps to fill in the details of the story and to create an atmosphere of passing time and change. However, Crossan does not linger on irrelevant detail and the story moves swiftly, flitting past that which is not integral to the main developments of the character and plot.

The main plot about Kasienka and her mother's move to England in search of her father is well-supported and enhanced by the interweaved sub-plots. For me, it is the sub-plot around developing personal identity which are the highlight of this story.

 

This book definitely stays with you after you have finished it. You know where you finish the last page and just sit staring......and wondering what happens next in the characters' lives? And then wish you could quickly find someone else who has read it so you can talk about it with them? Yes, it was like that for me.

This book would probably fit into a contemporary genre because it is set in current times and is realistic (but you might also find it on the poetry shelves).

I would recommend this novel to readers approximately 11+ and think that it could have a broad appeal to a variety of readers.

 

 

Publication details:

Bloomsbury, January 2012, London, hardback

 

This copy: received for Carnegie reviewing from the publisher

 

M's Review - Now Is the Time For Running

Now Is the Time For Running by Michael Williams

Now Is the Time For Running

First published in South Africa as The Billion Dollar Soccer Ball, Now Is the Time For Running is a novel about the courage, bravery, despair and hope that are required by ordinary, everyday adults and children in the face of xenophobia (the fear of people from another country).

This is a compelling story about two brothers, Deo and Innocent. It starts with a dusty game of football being played in a Zimbabwean village using an improvised soccer ball (a football). It’s around 2007 and the arrival of soldiers at the soccer game sets the novel on a dramatic and heartwrenching path.

Deo is fourteen and finds himself faced with a smattering of the biggest and scariest decisions of his life. They’re made even tougher because he shoulders responsibility for Innocent, his twenty-four year old brother who suffered brain trauma at birth.  Armed with only a broken soccer ball and a cereal box, Deo and Innocent set off on a journey. They know their lives are in danger and they need to seek refuge. But they don’t know where they’re going or how they’re going to get there.

Now Is the Time For Running is a hopeful story but it is also a deeply sad and horrifying story. There all sorts of wild and often horrible obstacles encountered by the characters in this story. But there is also a lot of goodness where you’d least expect to find it. Apart from telling a good story, this is one of those novels that might prompt some readers to go and find out more about refugees or even get involved in existing social projects. Or maybe start a new one.  Or just have a little think.

This is a book that could hook readers of soccer fiction. Soccer is a central theme and it provides key turning points in the story. It is also a much loved game in southern Africa. But for those who aren’t football fans, fear not. The story is really about Deo and Innocent’s journey for refuge. And it’s a real pageturner. The last section of the book was my least favourite but it signposted me to a couple of important things I didn’t know about so I am very pleased I read them (I’m not saying what they were because that would be a plot spoiler!). 

I think this fictional story (based on interviews with African refugees) will tug at the hearts and minds of most teenagers, youth workers and many other adults.  I think I should start a new tag for the blog: books that made me cry when I wrote the review.

The book cover warns that it is not suitable for younger readers. There is horrific violence and abuse but it is not graphic and sometimes it is simply inferred.

Publication details:

Tamarind, 2012, London, paperback

This copy: received for review from the publishers

Other reading suggestions:

For younger readers wishing to read fiction that explores issues with similar themes about democracy and refugees, I would point them towards The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo.

For older readers who are interested in genocide, refugees and human rights, Never Fall Down is the story of a teenage boy living through the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge killings in Cambodia. Never Fall Down is a much starker read than Now Is the Time For Running.

Another teen novel about contemporary Zimbabwe is Jason Wallace’s Out of Shadows. We haven’t read this but it did win the Costa in 2010.

The younger brother caring for an older brother theme also runs through My Brother Simple by Marie Aude-Murail. But that is a very different book.

Review - The Other Side of Truth

The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo

The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo

I am interested in stories about contemporary Africa that are suitable for older children. So when I spotted The Other Side of Truth in the library a couple of weeks back, I picked it up in a shot.  And if you see it in yours, I’d recommend you borrow it too.

The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo was a Carnegie medal winner in 2000. That meant it was probably well-written but it could also mean that it was full of ‘issues’.  Being Beverley Naidoo, of course there were going to be ‘issues’. Her earlier novel, Journey to Jo’burg had been banned by the South African government during apartheid.  And, yes, The Other Side of Truth tackles very big issues. It deals with political murder, smuggling, racism, bullying and political asylum in the UK – and it does it sensitively and very well.

The Other Side of Truth literally starts with a bang in Nigeria and it swiftly moves on to London. It tells the story of two Nigerian children, Sade (12) and Femi (10), who find themselves caught up in a growing web of lies in a strange country without their parents after their mother is killed in Nigeria. Sade is tormented by these lies because her mother had always taught her how important honesty was.  Now, Sade finds that being honest isn’t always so easy when there are life or death issues at stake.

The story is written as a bit of an adventure but deals with the real life issues of asylum seekers. Sade especially proves herself to be a worthy heroine as she holds herself responsible for ensuring their father's safety - even at her and Femi's expense. 

Most readers will warm to Sade and Femi immediately because these characters find themselves in really awful and heartwrenching situations more than once.  Will it ever get better for them? Despite the big issues that this book takes on, it is an easy read.  What I particularly liked about this story was that there are some really nice adult characters too. It is a very hopeful story and I highly recommend it. If I had a list of ‘best books for children/teens’, this would be on it.

Publication details:

2000, Puffin, London, paperback

This copy: borrowed from public library