When the caged bird flies

by Louise Shelley

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Kamila · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was so different from my normal reads - much heavier and difficult to read in parts..
Firstly I would like to point the trigger warning as the book contains theme of racism..
We learn about love history of Amanda and Desmond set in small Welsh village..
Very hard and hurtful love story painted heavy by lack of tolerance and discrimination..
The description of daily racism faced by Desmond is so hard to read but feel it’s important to get to know as it opened my eyes even more to injustice..
The twist at the end was very surprising and I was literally left with my mouth open..
I would say difficult but important book to read.

[Duckfacekim09 (Kim Howell) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐.5
I really don't know what I was expecting from this book going into it because I couldn't remember what it was about at all and I don't like to read synopses. I didn't know what genre it was but there was a content warning for racism at the start.

This book is only 185 pages but it opens on a great prologue and I was really invested in Amanda's story. I really wanted to keep reading to the end to make sense of the beginning.

I found the book a little hard to read because of the dropped letters and use of apostrophes.

With some of the language used and the descriptors of some of the characters, I expected the Author to be a person of colour, and was surprised to find that she wasn't. I don't really feel it was appropriate for a white person to have written this book, and used the language that was contained. I know it's meant to raise awareness but it still felt uncomfortable to me. And it may be that the Author has some life experience etc. to contribute but there is no Author Bio in the book or even an Author letter to explain this. There is an Acknowledgement to a 'Mahmood Mattan 1922-1952, for the injustice he suffered, just for falling in love with a woman of a different colour skin' so I'm assuming the book is based on him but it would be great to have something more concrete to base this assumption on as racism is still such a big issue in 2022.

I did however absolutely love Amanda and Desmond's love story. Although I don't really know what to make of the ending. It was a very powerful and moving story.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly I will add a trigger warning, as the book contains a heavy theme of racism which may be upsetting for some readers.

This book is set in Wales and focuses on a small village. Starting with action and suspense a man drives home from a night out and discovers a young woman, covered in blood and who has been in an accident.
We then go back to learn about this woman Amanda. When her brother brings a new friend home for a meal she is introduced to Desmond, a man she is instantly attracted to.
To her he is kind and special. But sadly others in the village, including her own family only see the colour of his skin, which is black to their white.

Although the racism Desmond recieves from people in the village is cruel and not nice, the author has done a great job at making it feel very real and it never gets too violent or unreadable.
You learn a lot about black history from Desmond's conversations with Amanda, and I like that she is someone who sees him as a whole person and skin colour doesn't change her opinion of him, as it never should be an issue.

I would probably describe this book as a drama more than anything else. It shows a small village life, has a range of characters to be introduced too, and has a very surprising twist at the end.

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly the love story part of this book is definitely what kept me reading, I desperately wanted the relationship between Amanda and Desmond to survive everything they were going through.

This was a tough book to read , not because it was boring or anything like that but it was more the subject matter of it. This book is set in Wales in a small close knit community, one where Amanda felt safe and happy . This all changed once she falls for Desmond then she sees what her community is really like.

This book has a heavy trigger warning for racism , at times I found it hard to read but I am glad I carried on and finished it. I found the story very thought provoking for what it is like for people who experience that situation.

[mrsbookburnee Niamh Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really like the authors writing style.

I had the completely wrong idea throughout! Loved the ending. I also enjoyed the setting of the book a close knit (ignorant) community and what I felt was a mountain as one of the main characters.

I really liked Amanda as a character, who would fight for beliefs and stand up to others in what is an important subject.

I’m looking forward to reading more by the author.

[Lotty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven’t read anything by this author before and upon reading the synopsis thought that this would be a book that I may like. The book opens with some dramatic scenes which grip the reader and provide a promising suspenseful start. The book addresses the challenging and important subject of racism, racial injustice and the treatment of a black man within a white community. I particularly liked the character of Amanda and her determination to beat the prejudice’s of others (including her own family) in order to allow love to prevail. The author has provided some beautiful descriptions throughout the story, allowing the reader to visualise the setting of the novel. Unfortunately I found that I did struggle in places with this one to see where the storyline was going or how it would all come together. In some places the action could have perhaps been a little more fast paced. Although the ending does contain a good twist, I had already suspected that this would happen.