A Boy Called Christmas - Matt Haig & Chris Mould

A Boy Called Christmas

When I first read the blurb: "You are about to read the true story of Father Christmas" and I saw that it was authored by Matt Haig, I knew I wanted to read this. From the very first page, I was smitten.

A Boy Called Christmas is rollicking good fun, full of laughs for child and adult alike on every page, (and Haig has taken the opportunity to poke fingers at the state of the international nation). It's also an adventure quest story, perfect for shared bedtime reading - or cosying up under the Christmas tree. And Chris Mould provides plenty of illustrated pages.

For anyone who's been wondering how to chat about the way we treat outsiders to young children - without getting all politicised - this could be a fun place to start.

If you believe in Father Christmas - the old man dressed in white and red, whose reindeers like Donner and Cupid and Blitzen (okay, Cupid might not be mentioned in this book!) fly him through the night delivering gifts to children who've been good; if you believe in the potential of humanity to be a generous and giving species; if you believe in the possibilities for little boys and girls to go out and become who they want to be; and if you really like a bit of mischievous fun about how things came to be, chances are you'll love this little book.

There is an elf swear word in the novel: impossible.


A Boy Called Christmas has been nominated for the 2017 Carnegie medal.


Publication details: 2016, Canongate, Edinburgh, paperback
This copy: received for review from the publisher

Dreaming the Bear – Mimi Thebo

Dreaming the Bear - Mimi Thebo

Dreaming the Bear is a quick read about a teenage girl, Darcy, who’s recovering from pneumonia after begrudgingly moving to Yellowstone National Park in its deep winter snow. She stumbles across an injured bear and things get a little more complicated.

Darcy seemingly moves in and out of bodily consciousness and this is interestingly written and quite atmospheric too. Her narration of the overwhelming and consuming tiredness that can accompany debilitating illness is conveyed very convincingly. Her relationship with the bear is an interesting one. It provides a storyline with heartstring-pull moments (oh yes, I did cry) and explores worthy questions about wildlife habituation but I didn't feel this was as richly conveyed as Darcy's consciousness was, perhaps because the novel is quite short. 

Characterwise, Darcy, perhaps justifiably, is a whinger. Yes, she is ill but she’s very spoilt too: it’s in her tone, in her thoughts and in her shopping behaviour so I struggled to warm to her. Sometimes that matters when I read a book. In terms of character development, she does change and she does become more aware of the different ways of life around her. 

The cover and the size of the book made me think this was a middle grade novel but I think the interest level is perhaps for readers older than 9 or 10 years, and definitely for teens too.

Dreaming the Bear has been nominated for the 2017 Carnegie Medal.

Publication details: Oxford University Press, 2016, Oxford, paperback

This copy: received for review from the publisher

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?

Goodbye Stranger - Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger - Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger - Rebecca Stead

Goodbye Stranger has Rebecca’s Steads trademark wonky charm and many layered mysteries but there’s also a sharper and faintly more sinister edge that is reminiscent of Annabel’s Pitcher’s Ketchup Clouds.

Goodbye Stranger is a story about growing up, growing apart and having to sometimes say goodbye to things and people that held a very special place in your heart.  But, thankfully, it’s also all about saying hello to new things even if navigating your way around them is sometimes a confounding mystery, as many of the characters discover.

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright - Christopher Edge

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright - Christopher Edge

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright is a lovely little novel packed with lots of quantum physics and a lightheartedly warm approach to dealing with the raw grief in response to the loss of a very dearly loved parent. It’ll make you chuckle perhaps a little bit more than it will make you cry (which is probably a very good thing!).

Essentially, this is a story perfect for younger readers as a roundabout way of exploring grief (and a jolly good story, full stop). Albie’s mother has recently died from cancer. His parents were both physicists, and he thinks that he might be able to find his mum alive in a parallel universe. With a little help from CERN and a slowly blackening banana, Albie sets off to do just this.

Albie is a delightful character and he meets a castful of ‘interesting’ others (Alba was my favourite). His fantastic adventures paint a trail telling us that grieving and just getting on with it can be a difficult thing to do – whatever your age – and that everyone needs a little bit of time out too. The novel also gives a very big thumbs up to kitchen dancing (of which I'm a huge fan).

If you find yourselves enamoured by 'Back To the Future' or 'Groundhog Day', the humour in The Many Worlds of Albie Bright will definitely appeal to you.

And a little warning: if your child is reading this book, you’d best beef up on your basic quantum theory, otherwise…..well, rotten bananas!

Publication details: Nosy Crow, 2016, London, paperback

This copy: review copy from the publisher

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2017.

Sophie Someone - Hayley Long

Sophie Someone – Hayley Long

Sophie Someone - Hayley Long

Sophie Someone is a pacy mystery full of more laughter than tears with an intriguing use of wordplay.  I really enjoyed this novel.

The plot is about fourteen year old Sophie whose family moved them in cloaked circumstances to Belgian. She finds the new language difficult but by the time she’s fourteen, Sophie starts putting bits and pieces together that make her wonder who exactly she is, and that things might not be the way her parents say they are.

From the get go, I was drawn to the mixed up language. Initially, I thought the novel was going to be about dyslexia but quite quickly realised the story was going to be slightly different and quite suspenseful. I was intrigued to find about about this story that was difficult to put into words.

Initially, it was a bit of a challenge to remember what the words meant but, as it went along, I realised that I was working it out contextually. A bit like we do in life and with foreign languages, an aspect that the novel explores a little. 

There was also a definite playful element to the word play, eliciting little chuckles from me, picturing women as wombats and men as maniacs, and those wearing uniforms were actually in a unicorn. But, I also enjoyed how replacing a word with another unrelated word meant there were occasionally layers of meaning in paragraphs or sentences, a kind of sub-text. Whether intentional or not, this played along in my mind, e.g. introvert/internet, computer/companion. An additional aspect to the language meant that while there was swearing it didn't sound like it. I imagine younger readers would find this hilarious and it certainly removes any potential grit from the novel.

The novel is divided into sections that show how Sophie comes to see herself as the mystery about their lives deepens, unfolds and twists. On another level, it’s a novel about language and names not defining individuals, and that the way we view things in life – especially our troubles and anxieties - are all a matter of perspective.  Along the way, Sophie does this with the help of a cast of (mostly) warm and loveable characters.

***

Sophie Someone has been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017.  It was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards 2015.

Publication details:

Hot Key Books, 2015, London, paperback

This copy: review copy from the publisher

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.

Emily Climbs - LM Montgomery

Emily Climbs by LM Montgomery

Guest review by Alice (14)

This is a beautifully written follow up to Emily of New Moon but you have to read Emily of New Moon first as I did because it would get a bit confusing as to who's who as there are quite a few characters from the first book in this book. I for one can't wait to read the last book in the Emily series (Emily's Quest) to find out what happens next.

(Spoiler alert – if you haven’t read Emily of New Moon, go away and do that first if you're afraid of spoilers for Emily Climbs!)

Emily Climbs is the second book in the Emily series. In the first book, the 12 year old Emily moves to New Moon, her aunt's house after her father’s death leaves her an orphan. Now 14 in the second book, Emily goes to Shrewsbury high school with her friends, Ilse, Teddy and Perry, but going to Shrewsbury means going to stay with aunt Ruth and to stay with aunt Ruth means to give up her beloved writing. Emily now torn from her dreams faces many dilemmas throughout the story.

My favourite character is Cousin Jimmy who although he is not the main character is always willing to listen to Emily and he will always side with her, always thinking her right.

This thought provoking book will make all teenagers and adults sympathise with the woes and dilemmas of young Emily from the start of the book when she is 14 to the end where she is 17. Some of the language on this book may be a bit tricky for younger readers to understand (even I had a bit of trouble with some words!) and this book gets ten out of ten for a deeply satisfying read.

Publication details: November 2013, Virago Modern Classic, London, paperback (first published 1925)

This copy: review copy from the publisher

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!)

 

****

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