The Kindness Project

by Deborah Abela

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Friendship, Young Adult, Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2024

About the author

Deb knew she wanted to be a writer when she was 7 years old. Her first story was about a man made out of cheese. It wasn’t very good. She’s had much more practice writing since then and strangely enough her first writing job was for a kids’ show on channel Ten called “Cheez TV”. After 7 years of writing scripts about everything from llamas to bungy jumping and how to go to the toilet in outer space, Deb wrote her first novel - Max Remy Superspy Part 1: In Search of the Time and Space Machine.

It’s about a feisty girl called Max and her best friend Linden who travel the world as secret agents fighting bad guys. It’s an action packed series based on loads of adventures Deb had, just after she left school. She’s slept beside alligators, been harassed by monkeys (and who hasn’t) was almost
traded for a camel and was thrown in jail at gunpoint, twice.
Deb still claims her innocence to this day.

Together with sport icon Johnny Warren, Deb also created
the Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) series. It’s about a
young boy called Jasper and his best friend Lil, who love
their soccer and dream of being soccer legends, just like
Johnny. Deb lives in Sydney with her partner Todd, who
is almost as cute as Linden.

Reviews

[BookLoverLily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and here are some points on why!
1. The whole idea of the kindess project (Thanks Ms. Skye)
2. DJ, Layla, Leaf and Nicolette/Nanna's backstory!
3. Particularly Leaf, as he faced tremendous challenges, but still somehow 'beats' the school bully, and puts a smile on Nicolette's face!
4. DJ's culture - I've never had Persian food myself, , so this was exploring a whole new aspect for me! It's so amazing that the author and slip some culture in this book!
5. "Mum" - Like, don't get me wrong, but I get SO MUCH happiness from the word, "Mum!" You know why? BECAUSE IT"S AUSTRALIAN! Not Mom — Mum!!! I'm so happy! 🤣😅😊😘😍😁❤️
6. It's Australian. It's Australian. Not many authors I read are Australian. Some of them are from the UK or US, but this one is an Australian author! That's bascially fact 5 but, ahhhh wellll!
7. Nanna/Dementia — Because I'm so sad she has Dementia, but all Nicolette wants is Nanna's 'old' self back. As soon as I heard Dementia, 🫸😩😭😿 SO SAD! Anyways...
8. Leaf's cartoons — When the author described Leaf's cartoon, I immediately thought of 'AMAZING, WONDROUS, WONDERFUL!!' I love how they always cheer Nicolette up. The Ruby Flame and The Masked Avenger!
9. The font — I loved how the author changed fonts, kind of like Geronimo Stilton vibes!
Points that I don't really like (only a few!)
1. The poem structure — I feel like the author could have described the narrative a bit more using the narrative structure instead of poem. I do love how the author explores another structure though!
2. Rhyming — I do wish that because the author did poem, that she would rhyme it. I mean she did rhyme a few lines, but that's all., so....
Anyways, that's all! Thanks for reading up to here! :)

[Anna Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A verse novel bursting with warmth, compassion and kindness. Can’t wait to get this into the hands of students.

[Kerryn Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verse novels are one of my absolutely favourite novel formats and this is a fabulous one. Friendship, family and kindness shine at the centre of this lovely story.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful story about friendship, love and, well, kindness. Very cleverly written in prose with typefaces to accentuate feelings, emotions, moments and tales. 5/6 books for school

[Ady Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful YA verse novel. Absolutely loved it. Bought copies for nieces and nephews for Christmas. Xx

[Jo Schenkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great message in this beautiful little verse novel. It'd make a great class read aloud. Keep the tissues nearby. Thanks again, Deborah Abela.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Future superheroes are like tender seedlings - given the right conditions, they thrive and grow.

In Ms Syke’s year 6 classroom, the term project is ‘The kindness project’, where teams of students create their own project to make the world a better place.

For Nicolette, changing the world isn’t likely, with anxiety, family relationships breaking down, and struggling to negotiate a friendship.

But, Ms Syke knows her class and her students. Teaming the four unlikely students together, sparking the minds and hearts of all.

This is a beautiful story, told as a verse novel. The fonts, graphics and page design are far from wishy-washy, making this book the perfect stages 2 and 3 class text.

Once you’ve finished reading this text, you’ll be hungry for more. Head over to the ‘Words and Nerds’ podcast to hear author, Deb Abela share her journey of writing this story.

Head over to ‘Room to Read’ to see how you can empower other children through education.

A gift of a story and book. Thank you, Deborah Abela.

[Gretchen Bernet-Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A text layout which will appeal to young readers and older readers reading the book to younger readers. A gem of a story by author Deborah Abela who wrote inside ‘I hope you enjoy this little dose of kindness!’ For me it’s more than a dose, it’s a great big generous helping, with thanks to Zanni Louise for my copy. Of course things don’t start off all sweetness and light, oh no, there’s shy Nicolette, DJ a bully and various obstacles to conquer. Along comes Leaf, a kid you will recognise (and hope in hindsight that you were nice to him). He deserves niceness and big bunches of kindness. Where is his mother? Both he and Nicolette have troubled backgrounds. They become friends but not before Nicolette imagines all sorts of disasters. Her mind goes off on tangents, she tends to think worst-case scenario and moments do go awry. Ideally ‘You tell someone your worries and they don’t laugh or tease you or call you names, they just listen’. However it does seem like her Nanna is getting a raw deal in the aged care system. The drama is heightened and Nicolette and Nanna make daring plans. What could go wrong?

I think the type-setting and font changes for this book are brilliant and I haven’t had this much fun since Oliver Jeffers ‘The Incredible Book Eating Boy’. Parents are distracted and teacher Ms Skye, doesn’t seem to notice classroom dynamics but she gives the class a school project ‘The Kindness Project’ and anyone who has ever done this type of school assignment will groan in sympathy. Coming up with ideas is hard but when you have an obstructive, rude classmate like DJ throwing nasty comments around, the task becomes a hundred times harder. Naturally Nicolette and Leaf team up but will their combined ideas be enough? Can they create understanding and kindness throughout their school and beyond? A big ask for young kids with family problems weighing them down. While I would like a stronger sense-of-place, the characters do make up for it. My heart and mind collide and I shed a happy tear towards the end – mushy I know. Deborah Abela (Ambassador for Room to Read.org) writes young realism in a way which makes reading this story both meaningful and enjoyable.

[Middle Grade Musings · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You don’t need anyone’s permission to stand up for what’s right.”

MGM Review #42 - The Kindness Project

It’s taken me a while to get round to reading this one, and I was sorry it took me so long because it is a powerful read.

Nicolette is a bit of a loner at school, and after the bell she spends most of her time with her Nanna doing puzzles and listening to the stories about her amazing life. Nicolette starts to have hope for a friend when a new boy, Leaf, arrives at the school and takes a warming to her. The same day, their teacher Ms Skye, sets the class a group task ‘Kindness Project’, hoping the students can change the world just a little. But Nicolette thinks she has no chance when she is grouped with the new kid Leaf, the school bully DJ and the popular girl Layla (who doesn’t seem to notice her at all). Despite their differences, will this misfit group be able to work together and conjure up some kindness magic of their own or will they be doomed from the start and fail to make any difference at all?

I’m starting to think verse novels are taking over the middle grade world and I am all for it. Deborah has crafted a novel full of heart, that will take you on an emotional roller coaster and have you feeling a little bit better about the world and the kindness that exists in it.
It is beautifully written with rich imagery full of sophisticated similes, and ably supported by a clever visual layout with effective changes in font, shape and direction. It touches on some heavy backstories and issues, but delicately introduces these themes to support younger readers through the text. Lead by the new kid Leaf, who has boundless kindness to share in the most subtle ways, this book is the perfect reminder that a few little words and a comforting hand on the shoulder can make the world of difference.

Read this now, you’ll be all the better for doing so. Thank you Deborah!

#LoveOzMG #middlegradereads #middlegradebooks #bookstagram #kidsbooks #mgreads #middlegradefiction #readmoremiddlegrade #middlegradebookstagram #mgbooks #mgbookstagram #mgbookshelf #middlegradebookreview #middlegradelit

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book in preparation for Deb's visit to our school later this year. What a gem of a book! Nicolette is a wonderful, relateable character. I think many readers will relate to her anxieties and dealing with problems that really shouldn't be on her plate (such as fixing the relationship between her Mum & Nana, or Nana's progressing dementia).

While the book is called The Kindness Project, and the students are working towards this over the whole term, much of the story is separate from this project. In fact, the details of it are deliberately quite sketchy until the end. The book is much more about relationships with friends and family.

This is the second book I've read lately where students attitudes towards each other have been transformed by being forced to work together at school. If only that always worked when we grouped our students! I did think the turn around in DJ in particular was a little unbelievable - but I am willing to forgive that given all the other realistic characteristics and wonderful aspects of the book. Hoping to share this in full with my Stage 3 classes.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a gorgeous little read for middle grade. year 3 and above. Written on verse form with plenty of variations in font size and shape to keep it engaging. 4 students brought together for a group assignment have to learn to get along and trust each other. They all have issues going on with their family.
Nicolette wants to spend time with her nana In the aged care home, Layla wants her mum back after she has remarried, DJ wants his dad back since he is a volunteer doctor overseas and Leaf wants his mum back since she has schizophrenia. So it's the journey or friendship and resilience and kindness.

[Odelya London · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! SOOOO sweet and lovely. This book made me pretty emotional-probably both happy and sorry for some of these unlucky characters.
Nicolette and her Nanna were made for each other and fit together like a puzzle piece. (read the book and you will know why I talked about the puzzle thing) When the new boy, Leaf turns up to the school, and Ms. Skye, the best teacher ever in Nicolette's opinion introduces the kindness project, Nicolette is excited until she finds she is in a group with the school bully, Lead, and the perfect/popular/pretty girl, she is sure this project will be a disaster until things change...both with the kindness project and with nanna.

[Debbie Cozzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an outstanding children's book. I chose this for a small group of yr 6 children as our first book group. The children have been in awe of the verse style writing and how easy it was to read. A style none of them have ever read. They predicted throughout.

Beautifully written about 4 children who learn to work together on a project.

[Ruthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible verse novel about family (and grandparents), being the new kid and friendships, finding your voice and creating positive social and cultural change. Moving, funny and very relatable. I feel this is a must read for older primary kids.

[Emma-Kate Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic middle grade book by Deb Abela. The characters can be found in every classroom and are so relatable. Beautifully written, touching on some hard to discuss topics, that impact so many. An inspiring book that I can’t wait to read with my students.

[Kristin Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, heart warming book. I adored it.

[Alison Stegert · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much heart. Get your tissues and a mug of hot cocoa. Deb Abela’s heart-warming story inspires hope.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

FMI - Mental health, not belonging, making friends. Interesting don't and text layout

[Torin’s Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for everyone, this books tackles bullying, anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia, and navigating relationships. It is full of hope!

[Gorfia Moriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lit Club 4 Kids

[Christine Pirrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this verse novel. Themes of gorgeous kindling of friendship, anxious tweens, family, mental health and love stories but not as we know them sprout eagerly from this book. Thank you.

[Katarina Palad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the layout of this book. I finished it in two days.

[Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

Representation: Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Bullying
Score: Six and a half out of ten.

The Kindness Project, a poetry novel by Deborah Abela, was somewhat enjoyable but needed improvements.

It starts with Nicolette and three other students, whom Ms Skye groups for a 'Kindness Project,' hence the title, where students think of ways to change the world through kindness.

While some characters are likeable and relatable, others are not, and some lack depth and meaningful development when more would benefit the novel. The exception is DJ, who was once unlikeable and criticised Nicolette for her words but eventually stopped after revealing that his father passed away.

There is little action to find or discuss here as The Kindness Project aims to be character-driven.

As The Kindness Project is a verse novel, it uses poetry instead of prose. The novel uses some poetic devices, such as different fonts, various word sizes and italics for emphasis. Some fonts are typed, while others resemble handwriting, and a word's size can gradually increase or decrease with a different height for each letter. The author split some words into letters and arranged them diagonally or to follow a line that takes up more page space. Other than that, it has little to offer because it has lacks figurative language techniques such as similes and metaphors. The limited vocabulary is intentional to appeal to a younger target audience. Also, Nicolette's perspective is the only one readers can read, with no perspectives from other characters.

The pacing varies but leans towards medium-paced at more than 320 pages. However, the verse format helps increase the pace, even with many lengthy and long-winded scenes for monologue, dialogue, character dynamics and development.

The Kindness Project is mildly intriguing in that it explores themes such as kindness, but other novels have done that before, even for younger readers. However, it is still original in that the novel discusses this topic in a poetry format.

The plot flows logically and linearly, leading to an acceptable and positive conclusion.