The Secret Sunshine Project

by Benjamin Dean

A heart-warming story of kindness, courage and love in all its forms. Perfect for 9+ readers and fans of Elle McNicoll, Lisa Thompson and Onjali Rauf.

Bea's family are happy. Like, really happy. Like, kind of gross but also cute happy. So when they visit London Pride together and have the ultimate day out, Bea doesn't think her family could possibly get any happier. But a year later, a grey cloud is following Bea's family around. Dad has passed away, and without him around they have no choice but to pack their bags and move to the countryside to live with Gran.

With Bea's big sister, Riley, taking the news hard, Bea will do anything to cheer her up. So with the help of new friends, The Secret Sunshine Project is formed - Bea's plan to bring Pride to the countryside and a smile back to Riley's face. There's just one teeny tiny problem - the village mayor. A grumpy old woman who's on a mission to rain on Bea's parade . . .

Genres: Middle Grade, LGBT, Queer, Contemporary, Lesbian, Family, Friendship

Audiobook

First published March 31, 2022

About the author

Benjamin Dean is a London-based celebrity reporter. His biggest achievement to date is breaking the news that Rihanna can’t wink (she blinks, in case you were wondering). Benjamin can be found on Twitter as @notagainben tweeting about Rihanna and LGBTQ+ culture to his 10,000+ followers. Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow is his debut book and he's currently working on his second, publishing in 2022.

Reviews

[charlotte, · Rating 3 out of 5]

On my blog.

Actual rating 3.5

Rep: Black mcs, lesbian character, gay side characters

CWs: death of a parent

Galley provided by publisher

The Secret Sunshine Project is a very sweet middle grade book, following Bea and Riley, two sisters obliged to spend their summer holiday in the small village where their grandma lives. This means they’ll miss London Pride, the first such celebration since their dad died the year before, so Bea, wanting to cheer Riley up, tries to organise a Pride of their own in the village.

As I said at the start, it’s a very sweet book. The focus of it is on family and remembrance and friendship, really. That’s much in the same vein of Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow (perhaps less the remembrance), and it worked just as well here. All in all, these are very kind books, I find. Even the characters you’re not meant to like are treated kindly, and become more likeable for it.

Speaking of characters, as with Dean’s first book, those here are characters you’ll immediately like and sympathise with (unless they’re the aforementioned ones you’re not supposed to). You’ll fall for Bea and Riley from the moment they first step onto the page, and all of their friends besides. When the book is done, you won’t want to leave it because it means leaving them too. Which, I think, is the sign of a very good book.

But if there’s anything less positive I have to say about this one, it’s that it didn’t really give me the emotional hit that Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow did. It was sweet and it was fun, but I just didn’t get that on top of it all. And I’m not sure why.

However, despite that, it’s a book I would recommend. And definitely, Benjamin Dean is an author I’ll be coming back to.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, joyous, what Benjamin Dean does best <3

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny, sweet and heartfelt joyful story of grief, family, community and celebrating love in all its forms.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25-4.5/5

[Emily Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really useful for me as a middle grade book handling grief, as I’m trying to do a similar thing. I think the grief arc intersected with the main arc well. The friend group seemed to take centre stage at a odd moment, we go straight from Bea not wanting to leave and missing Lucas to suddenly she’s got new besties and I couldn’t really get invested in them because it felt like suddenly we had a whole new cast and I was wondering about everyone else. A surplus of characters made Riley take a back seat, but the way this story was set up made it seem like she should be the second main character. The kind-of-homophobic-but-not-really villian confused me a little, such as how Norman appeared as a sort of gotcha plot twist, despite the fact that Rita hadn’t really objected to gay people at all. The idea was really cute and I think I got very attached to the setting and characters we had at the start, and the pacing seemed unnatural, and the sheer volume of characters introduced after left no one except Bea really seeming relevant.
Norman was great and seemed to speak like a real person, in comparison to a lot of adult characters who were written in a more childlike way.
The book was good but crammed a bit too much in without going in depth on some things that seemed necessary and relevant. It confused me a lot because at times, it was really well written and the story lines came back together so well, that when they didn’t it was very noticeable. One particular moment that I struggled with was how on the day of London pride, Riley’s bed is empty… and then everyone carries on like normal and the next day she’s back? Such a missed opportunity to bring Riley back as relevant by her going to meet her supposed girlfriend in London because she’s grieving and moved to a new town. Headcanoning that in reality she snuck off and Bea was too busy not making Riley the main character to notice.
Also not a fan of the “cake gives you diabetes” line in a children’s book.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit boek was zo mega cute. Bea en haar zus Riley hebben de dag van hun leven bij London pride. Hierna overlijdt hun vader waardoor ze voor de zomer moeten intrekken bij hun oma. Hier komt Bea met het idee om een pride te organiseren. All of it was just so wholesome <3

[Jelke · Rating 4 out of 5]

CAWPILE rating: 8.21
actual rating: 4.5 ⭐️

[Ocean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartwarming story of friendship and family. I adore Bea and I wish I had a sibling like her. Riley reminds of myself as a teenager, I went through the same things as her and I think this book would have helped me massively at the time. The friendships in this book are incredible, and I'd love my own little group of misfits like Bea's friends. While this story is a bit sad at times, it's also extremely wholesome and joyful.

[Irisvdd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh but this was cute! I do wonder why the “villain” of the story was so sad and not nice. We didn’t really get a solution there :(

[seasalted.citrus (Topaz, Oliver) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun introduction to Benjamin Dean’s work!! The main characters were full of heart, the writing engaging (and great! I really liked how familial relationships and grief was captured throughout), and the story light and humorous while avoiding being embarrassing. Was the ending clichéd? Absolutely. (should be quite obvious which character’s turnaround I am talking about.) But to be fair, a lot of the book is. I found it charming, and the lively illustrations scattered throughout definitely added to it! 💕

Rita was a very fun villain!! Very classic children’s book™️. Comically evil, but in a silly way, and I kind of loved how despite the whole conflict revolving around her being vehemently against Pride happening, it’s… not for any queerphobic reasons, she just hates not being the center of attention (and fun) LOL???

My main issue, though, is that the pacing is a mess. The first half is great at introducing the characters and building them up, but the pride itself isn’t introduced until halfway through. I was anxiously checking the page numbers by the end, because SO MUCH had to be resolved so quickly! I would have also liked to see more of Norman and the townspeople.

Tbh I didn’t think I’d get to read this, but my library listened to my materials request, and I’m very glad they did! My town didn’t even have Pride until 2021 (I was part of that! I made the T-shirts! Haha!), so I wonder if there will be some other kid in my district that draws parallels to this book and really enjoys it.

[Niki.reads.rainbow · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the death of her father, Bea and her family have to leave London, and move to her grandma's house.

Trying to make her sister happy again, Bea and her new friends plan their own Pride.

This story is so wholesome. It's an emotional rollercoaster, but it also shows how important friends and family are.

It also features kids discovering they true self, a coming out, and a glamorous drag queen.

Also Bea's grandma is BAMF, and I would absolutely love to hang out with her.

I thoroughfully enjoyed this story, and even though it's a middle grade book, I definitely recommend it even for adults.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not many books make me want to weep tears of pure joy, but Benjamin Dean's always do. Just like Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow (which I have now forcibly made sure is in the school library where I work), The Secret Sunshine Project is a story of finding joy when it's needed most, and introducing people to the glittering, rainbow-covered happiness of Pride. As I fully expected I would, I loved this book!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely delightful book. Refreshing, heartwarming, and full of joy. I loved our heroine, Bea, and her relationships with the wonderful women of her family. I loved that the villain was a proper villain - love to hate her.

Diverse, inclusive - a veritable rainbow of characters but none seemed tokenistic or forced.

I would recommend this to Y6 and it would be delightful as a transition read into Y7. Especially over the summer, given the book's timeline and setting!

I'll definitely be getting a copy for the school library.

[Kendra (SteministKendra) · Rating 5 out of 5]

And Benjamin Dean does it again this melted my black heart and made it rainbow all over again! This book was everything I want out of a middle grade. Brilliant rep amazing colourful language honestly Benjamin Dean is my favourite middle grade author and all his books will be pre ordered

[꧁ ꕥ James ꕥ ꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and sweet story which broaches grief, family, community and all forms of love to a younger audience.

Joyful and heartfelt!

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to people of all ages who are unsure about LGBTQ+
Not one of my favourites but a very good idea 😁

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was beautiful I’m crying like a baby 🤣🤣

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a positive, hopeful story full of loveable, genuine characters living a story that feels like it grows from them and their circumstances, even as it centres on themes that children's literature usually struggles with or just gets super didactic over. It's so easy to get lost in this book and the fantastical happy ending was a joy to get to. That said, this book also has heaps to offer thematically. It ticks lots of boxes and would be a great addition to any library list 👌🏿

[Emily Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
A very cute and wholesome read. great for young audiences!
as always, love benjamin dean's writing

[Hannah (Sakurahan or ForeverBooks18) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret Sunshine Project by Benjamin Dean Review

Hi Foreverbookers,

How are you all? I hope you’re well!

I’ve just finished “The Secret Sunshine Project” by Benjamin Dean and I really enjoyed it. I read his first book, “Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow” last year and I loved it. This one was a little slower to get into but once I was hooked, I was hooked. The main bulk of the story takes place over one summer.

4.5 Stars (5 on Goodreads)!

“The Secret Sunshine Project” tells the story of Bea, our main character who we experience the story through, and her struggles, at first when she and her sister, Riley are told that they need to move to their Gran’s house for the summer because their mum can’t afford for them to live in London, where they live at the beginning of the book, after they lose their dad to illness. Both Bea and Riley are upset by this move at first, as well as the death of their father. Riley more evidently so. Bea had all these summer plans with her best friend Lucas too. Can they learn to live differently? Or will they hate it and not like living with their Gran? You’ll need to read to find out!

“The Secret Sunshine Project” element of the story comes into play after half way through the book. This is where Bea suggests they have a Pride event, which was her family’s last happy memory together, before her dad’s diagnosis the year before. Also Riley is unsure of her sexuality, as are a few other characters Bea meets in St Regent’s Vale. Does this Pride event go ahead, or are there problems that arise? You’ll need to read to find out!

I read “The Secret Sunshine Project” for a few readathons:

Cardcaptor-a-thon - I only need to complete ONE more prompt for this! The Windy, which is funnily enough the first card that Sakura captures, but it’s the last prompt I need to fulfil! The Secret Sunshine Project doesn’t fulfil it, unfortunately...

Reading Rivalry - I read this for the LGBTQ character prompt as there are a few different LGBTQ characters in the book.

Whatever-a-thon - The three prompts I submitted for this were:
The/An/Of/A/And in the title
Recently Hauled - I hauled this in April/May!
Colour on the cover - my colour was purple!

Always Fully Booked “On The Cover” Reading Challenge - there are two people, Bea and her sister, Riley on the cover so I’ll count “The Secret Sunshine Project” toward that challenge.

Always Fully Booked “Genre Reading Challenge” - “The Secret Sunshine Project” is a middle grade contemporary so I’ll put it down for Contemporary. I might also read an adult contemporary at some point this year.

2022 Always Fully Booked Reading Challenge - A book with an LGBTQIA+ protagonist - Riley, along with a few other big characters are from the LGBTQ community.

Spoilers below...

“The Secret Sunshine Project” starts with Bea, Riley, their mum and their dad actually at Pride. The authors other book, “Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow” finished at Pride!

“This place is called Pride. I don’t want to be biased, but Pride might just be my favourite place in the world (and I say that as someone who once went to Thorpe Park four times in a summer holiday.”

Bea loves Pride. She loves the message behind it, how it brings people together. She compares it to Thorpe Park, a theme park in the UK. Young people love theme parks, at least I did and still do, so I thought this was important to note just HOW significant Pride is to one of the main characters in the book. I also thought this line was cute and funny!

“It wasn’t like she was in a bad mood or anything; more that she just retreated into herself, like she was trying to keep something from us.”

Riley, Bea’s sister retreats into herself when she tells her family about her sexuality at the beginning of the novel. Her mum and dad suggest that they go to Pride to show their support. Riley LOVES Pride, of course! She feels herself there. However, that’s the point in the story - acceptance! We’re then informed that Bea and Riley’s dad died. It’s revealed in the first chapter so he’s not really a character we get to know apart from through the girls recollections, when the London Pride event has gone past. After we learn about their dad’s death, we’re also informed through Bea that they need to leave their house because her mum can’t afford to live there anymore. They need to go and live with their Gran in St Regent’s Vale for the summer. There, they struggle at first to accommodate themselves in this new place.

When Riley goes off somewhere, Bea follows her. That’s where and when she meets Noah. Noah introduces her to his family and friends, Emmy and Robin. Emmy immediately warms to Bea, as a best friend. This was my favourite relationship throughout I think, because I could see JUST how much Emmy meant to Bea and how much Bea meant to Emmy. Not in a romance way, but as best friends. The Secret Sunshine Project really doesn’t focus on romance, but friendships and awareness of the LGBTQ movement! This comes in more at the end of the novel!

Noah realises towards the end of the novel that HE is in fact gay!

“Please go okay, please go okay, please go okay,” I murmured under my breath. I wished it with all my might. Noah had been my first new friend, he’d taken me in and introduced me to the others, so in some way, everything that had happened since was because of his kindness.”

This is Bea’s plea that everything goes okay when he comes as gay out to his gran! Does everything go okay? You’ll need to read to find out!

There, of course, is a villainous character in the form of Rita Ruckus. Her first concern is always herself, but she’s the councillor or St Regent’s Vale, where Sylvia, the girls’ gran lives, so she SHOULD be concerned about her villagers, but she isn’t. I actually found Rita quite funny! Her reactions to the things that Bea and the others do are quite outrageous; for example, when Sylvie painted flowers on her bin just to annoy Rita! I laughed at this!

“Rita was mad because of a flower? And since when is a flower an eyesore?”
Noah’s excitement was bubbling over in earnest now, a bounce in his step. “That’s what your gran said! But Rita said it had to go or else there would be consequences, and when she says that, she means there’s going to be trouble. But the next day, when Rita went to check, there were two flowers on the bin. The day after that, there were three, and the week after that I think we counted seventeen flowers altogether.” I pictured Gran’s colourful bin, sitting like some kind of rainbow sentry outside her house and laughed.
“Rita was FURIOUS! But every time she complained or threatened Sylvie, another flower would appear. Anybody else would’ve just got rid of the flowers and complained about Rita behind closed doors, but your gran just kept painting more.
The picture of Rita I was sketching in my mind was getting clearer with every story I heard, and it wasn’t exactly a good one.”

Bea is interested to learn her mother’s view of Rita from when she was a child when she’s back at home:

“What was she like when you were younger?”
Mum paused, unearthing buried memories. She shuddered at the thought of them. “Well, if I’m being honest, she was a nightmare.”

Rita was a horrible woman then and she hasn’t changed now, either. This is reflected when Riley comes home crying one night because Rita told her off for wearing an t-shirt in support of LGBTQ! Rita doesn’t support the LGBTQ movement and doesn’t like to be stood up against. She thinks that whatever she says should go, no matter what! Does this change? Especially when her son, Norman, a drag queen of all people turns up? You’ll need to read to find out!

I really enjoyed reading Norman’s parts as they were informative about Pride and LGBTQ rights, things that I didn’t know because I’m not a part of the LGBTQ community. That’s one of the things I love about Benjamin Dean’s books, how informative they are to everyone, not just children!

Does Bea get to set up and celebrate Pride with her family and friends, that she meets in St Regent’s Vale, or does Rita stop it from happening? “Can Bea make her sister proud?” is the question on the book cover, meaning can Bea make her sister accept who she is without feeling guilty or upset that she feels she’s different, even though she’s indeed human, like everyone else?

Overall, I really enjoyed reading “The Secret Sunshine Project” because it had funny parts as well as serious parts. It was a nice mashup of both. The characters are what made this book for me. It was the same in “Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow.” I loved reading about Bea, just as much as I loved reading about Archie. I didn’t even mind that the author who’s a man was writing from a girl’s perspective. I came close to crying at the end from happiness, and I NEVER cry when I read. There was artwork in this book too by Sandhya Prabhat. I thought the artwork was entertaining and added to the story. The reason it’s not getting the full 5 stars is that it was slow to get into as I said above.

Stand by for my next review, coming soon!

[KellieSam.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow the death of her father, Bea, her big sister Riley and their mother have decided to leave their home in London and move in with their Gran for the Summer. When Riley couldn’t visit London Pride, Bea would do anything to cheer her up. With the help of her new friends, The Secret Sunshine Project was formed and Bea’s plans of bringing Pride to the countryside began!
It was such a wonderful, heart warming book about family and friendship! Bea is such a lovely character; All she wants to do is help her sister and create new memories on such a heartbreaking day, I wish I had a sister like her! She is a strong young woman who will stop at nothing.
There are so many powerful subject matters are included within the book, I think something like this will help lots of children to come deal with some hard topics including death and who you are (LGBTQ+ community) .
As soon as I had finished reading I just wanted to go to my sister’s house and spend some time with her as a family. It really does drive home how families need each other and are there for each other no matter what.

[Fini (Hozier’s Version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

27/03/2023

★★★★★

This. was. amazing.

The Secret Sunshine Project was my second read by Benjamin Dean and I am part of the fan club. Keep those books coming, please. 👏👏👏

The topic of grief was so fleshed out, while it didn't take over the entirety of the plot, which I think is great for a middle-grade!

And I found it very lovely to have a book that is full of support from the people you'd expect it from and should always be able to count on.

This book has me in my feels, go read it 🤺🤺🤺

[Una-Jane Winfield · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not appropriate for children: it is grooming children to campaign for LGBT aims. But why should children aged 9 or 10 (the target audience) know or care anything about this subject? Neither sexual orientation (lesbian, gay or bissexual) nor "gender identity" ("trans" status) are appropriate subjects until secondary school in the sixth form, if then. This is the sexualisation of children. Simon & Schuster: I hope you will pulp this.

[Motherbooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

For reasons I don't really understand, some people get quite anxious about how best to talk to young people about different sexualities. I feel like The Secret Sunshine Project does it pretty well. It just accepts that people are different and assumes its readers will be okay with that. Bea's sister, Riley, comes out early in the book and it is a lovely moment. Everyone in her family gets behind it and they attend Pride together. It's a powerful and emotional experience for the four of them. So, when Bea's dad dies not long after, they keep this day in their memory. Although, instead of heading back to Pride a year later, the sisters are forced to leave their family home and move in with their grandmother for the summer. Instead of going to Pride, they'll be staying in a quiet village. Riley is, understandably, devastated which sets Bea off on a mission to cheer her up. Can she and her new friends bring Pride to their temporary home?

This is such a sweet story and it deals with so many great issues. It's a book about grief, inclusivity, friendship, family and community. It's a story that celebrates being true to yourself and not letting anyone shame you for it. It describes Pride in such a wonderfully child-friendly way that gets the spirit across without delving too much into the history. There's a bit of history there but it's mostly about the sense of community and freedom. I think The Secret Sunshine Project is a great way to introduce these topics to young readers. It treats them with respect but also doesn't make too big a deal about them. It's a book full of love, hope and positivity despite the sadness at its centre.

There's a fair amount of serious stuff going on in this book but it's still a lot of fun. Bea and her friends still manage to get up to some mischief and be a bit silly. Then there's Bea's Gradma who is a fantastic character. She's sure to be a hit with any younger reader. In fact, there are plenty of fun characters here. This is such a charming book that even the villain is so wonderfully British in her villainy. Of course, she's also awful but in a way that kids will love. If I had one criticism it's that she's a little one-dimensional and doesn't get a great ending. In fact, after the long build-up, the ending does seem very rushed. We don't get a lot of time to experience everything.

However, I'm well aware this is a book for much younger readers than myself and I don't think it's a problem. This is a great book for children to enjoy and help them get an understanding of some big topics. The overall message is very positive and celebrates everything good about the LGBTQ+ community. This is the kind of book that can only bring about happiness.

[Caitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story about two sisters, Bea and Riley. After the unexpected death of their father, Bea's family has to move away from London for the summer to a small village. In an effort to cheer Riley up, as she is missing London Pride, Bea decides to organise a local Pride to bring joy to a village trapped under the weight of one resident's opinions and decisions.

I think this is such an important book to have been published and to have available in libraries, schools and book shops for children to read. It takes care to explain what is meant by words such as gay and lesbian. It shows that Pride is a joyous celebration and a way to help people feel loved and included.

However, I feel this book suffers from some pacing issues and there isn't always enough tension in the plot to hold my interest. This may be due to me being primarily a fantasy reader and not a contemporary one. However, Katya Balen's books are some of my all-time favourites so I am open to loving a contemporary read.

Another thing that slightly jarred with me was the use of the word 'girl'. When Bea joins the group of friends, Emmy says she's pleased to have another girl in the group as she's fed up of it being all boys. Then later Norman tells Emmy, "Girl, you'll go far with compliments like that!"

For a book that is so keen to promote Pride and showing inclusion to everyone, I would think more care would have been taken to show awareness of the trans community. Do Emmy/Norman know that Bea/Emmy identifies as a girl when they make these comments? They've only just met so I find it unlikely. Also, why is the book perpetuating the stereotype that girls need to have another girl in their group of friends? It seems to be saying even if girls are friends with boys they'll still be missing something.

Overall, I'm pleased this book exists. If one person reads it, sees themselves in it and realises their worth, or if it helps someone to be kinder, more inclusive and braver at being an ally then it's a success. Hopefully, it will pave the way for many more middle books that have LGBT representation in them.

[Tracy Lander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bea, Riley and their Mum and Dad live in London. One day Riley walks in and just informs them that she likes girls. Her parents are amazing, they make it clear she is their daughter and they love her whatever. Then they suggest going to Pride London. The day becomes the most important day because just a few weeks later, Dad dies.
While the girls are trying to sort things out in their own heads Mum is struggling to keep their family afloat, but she can't and they have to leave the home that they've always rented. Riley doesn't hide her feelings, she's angry and withdrawn. Bea tries to hide hers and keep her sister happy.
They are going to spend the summer holidays in St Regents Vale with Gran - but Bea and Riley really don't want to and they are frightened that the house holds all of their memories of Dad.
When they get to Gran's house it really isn't what they expect. Gran has a lifelong feud with the lady of the Manor, Rita. And Rita is terrifying - she and her husband pretty much own the town and nobody does anything she doesn't want them too. Bea meets some new friends and Riley meets a new friend
The Fete is being organised and nothing is supposed to happen any time before. But Bea wants to organise something to make Riley happy. Then another visitor to St Regents Vale seems to be able to make that dream easier.
Can Bea and her friends make their surprise happen?

I read Me, My Dad and The End of The Rainbow and it was amazing. This book is the perfect follow up. Bea is amazingly strong young girl, and she seems to take after her Gran! But the whole book brings home the need for friends and family to pull together to help and support each other.
Read it....you won't be disappointed.

[Elizabeth Selby · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥…. ⁣
𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐆𝐁𝐓𝐐+ 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲; 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬; 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭. ⁣
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𝘉𝘦𝘢’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘉𝘦𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘋𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯.⁣
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𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘢’𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘙𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘉𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘱. 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 – 𝘉𝘦𝘢’𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘺’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 – 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳. 𝘈 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰’𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘢’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 . . .⁣
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[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was yet another heart-warming, joyous book from Benjamin Dean. The handling of emotions, particularly grief, was absolutely stellar.

I adored the MC, Bea, and how supportive and loving she is of her sister, Riley. I thought the friends she made in St. Regent's Vale were delightful and enjoyed Noah's subplot of self-discovery/coming out.

I also loved how, despite the fact that this is set in the real world, it almost seemed queer-normative. Its clear in the wider world of the story that real queer struggles exist but within the book that didn't seem to crop up. The concern around putting on a Pride was based upon Rita's (the Councillor of the village) controlling nature rather than the worry residents would be queerphobic. And I really liked that, there was a hopeful, innocent nature to it all that I loved. It was refreshing to not centralise queer struggle on this story of Pride (something that Benjamin Dean does so well in his books).

My only, very slight, criticism of the book is the pacing. There's this massive, long build-up to Pride that takes up the majority of the book. Then Pride happens and Bea goes back to London with her mum and Riley. The ending felt a tad rushed because of that, I wouldn't have minded a little more description of the Pride event.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following the death of their father, Bea, her sister Riley and their mum move to the countryside to stay with their gran for the summer. The last event they attended as a family was London Pride and the family are disappointed to not be able to attend this year.

As the girls try to settle into village life, they get to know the locals. Whilst most are friendly and welcoming, there is one - Rita Ruckus - who controls the village and everything that happens there and does not take kindly to new ideas.

In order to cheer up Riley and bring some life to the village, Bea comes up with an idea that may just ruffle a few feathers....

Having loved Benjamin Dean's first book, I was really looking forward to this and was not disappointed. This is a heartwarming tale of family and friendship and for standing up for what you believe in. The LGBTQ+ representation is so important in children's books and this story gives children the opportunity to maybe see themselves in some of the characters.

Highly recommended for year 6.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.