Play Book Tag discussion

I did a pre-read of this last night before deciding whether to give it to my 9-yr-old daughter.

I was blown away: this is a great book that holds up as an adult read. Like the graphic memoir The Best We Could Do, the unusual format (in this case a series of poems) helps to create a strong narrative out of vividly-evoked fragmentary memories of a turbulent time.

I will definitely encourage my daughter to read this in the future, but I am holding it back for now since some of the themes (such as borders closing and families becoming separated) aren't ones I'd choose for her while our family is uncertain about when it will be possible to move back to the UK due to COVID-19. I'd recommend approaching this with caution if considering it as a lockdown read, but I think it is a brilliant book for more stable circumstances.

So glad you liked this, Nikki ...


AMY ... are you reading this? A story told in verse. Yes, poetry. 5*****!

I will sing with you any time, but you will never get me to willingly read verse!

Amy wrote: "I will sing with you any time, but you will never get me to willingly read verse!"

You're missing out, this one is great! (And it's free verse, so you could just pretend you were reading particularly lyrical prose?)