Showing posts with label Firefly press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Firefly press. Show all posts

Sunday, 17 November 2024

A HISTORY OF MY WEIRD

Written by Chloë Heuch  


Small book cover image. This depicts the old asylum building and grounds in muted reds, yellows, and mauves. In front and centre, and demonstrating her gymnastic beam skills, the protagonist, Mo, is walking along a branch. To the right and behind, standing watching, is Carys, also known as Onyx. The title appears along the top of the cover, over a yellowing sky in bold lettering. Weird is in big purply red letters.
                                                       

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring this week an Adventure in Middle Grade Fiction.
 

When we were contacted and asked if we would like to review this, we took one look at the publicity details and said YES. Mrs H is autistic, and we love to see and support literature, especially for kids, that shines a positive and inclusive light on all aspects of autism.

Let me tell you, we have not been disappointed. So, without further ado, let's dive into this extraordinary story.  

Large book cover image. This depicts the old asylum building and grounds in muted reds, yellows, and mauves. In front and centre, and demonstrating her gymnastic beam skills, the protagonist, Mo, is walking along a branch. To the right and behind, standing watching, is Carys, also known as Onyx. The title appears along the top of the cover, over a yellowing sky in bold lettering. Weird is in big purply red letters.


AUTHOR:  CHLOË HEUCH

 

Cover art by:  VERONICA CARRATELLO

Cover design:  BECKA MOOR

 

Published by:  FIREFLY PRESS

 

Publication date Paperback:  4 JULY 24, so OUT NOW

 

Paperback ISBN:  978-191 5444 639

UK Cover price for Paperback:  £7.99


KINDLE price: £3.99

 

Pages: 250

 

Age range:  9+ 


Any dogs or cats? No, but some piranhas make an appearance! 


 

 

SPOILER ALERT


Some as to plot direction and characters.

 

 

Thank you to... 


We are exceedingly grateful to Graeme and Firefly Press Publishers for asking if we would review this. Given the subject matter, how could we say no?


As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.


First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.

 

The plot


This story unfolds from the start of the new school year in September and runs through in dated chapters until the end of term in December. New year 7 student, Mo, a talented young gymnast, has arrived at her new secondary school. Her junior school friends are now seemingly under pressure to be trendy. So much so that Mo is no longer acceptable, a freak; her little necessary actions, her stimming, and her need to correct her teacher are now embarrassing. It leaves her isolated and at the mercy of other kids and, surprisingly, teachers. Her factual nature, truthfulness, and following of the rules soon land her in detention for correcting a statement made by her teacher. Worse, when jostled by a onetime friend, who then stumbles, Mo gets blamed and is labelled a problem child and taken off the gymnastics team. 


Mo's time at home is split between her divorced parents and their respective partners. It is an arrangement that, whilst a bit chaotic, works. But finding a way to express herself is difficult. Issues with a new maths teacher, tantamount to bullying, discrimination and segregation, go unspoken and unnoticed. 


One saving grace is a quiet girl called Carys, the only supportive classmate when Mo is sent out of class. But can Carys, considered an emo/goth by the other kids and thus also a freak, be a friend? She strangely wants to be called Onyx in private. It is another mystery that Mo's autistic mind needs to fathom. 


When the Mo and Carys decide to go to the drama club, a tentative bond is formed. These things build, and Mo is invited back to eat with Carys' family. But Mo finds a change in Carys and her mum, tiptoeing around their father, a stickler for girls looking and acting the prim and subservient female stereotypes.

When Mo naturally gives a truthful reply, the father leaves the table and asks for Mo to be taken home after eating. Again, alone, Mo is confused as to what she has done. Could Carys/Onyx's silence and absence from school have something to do with her?


This becomes a turning point in the book. Carys' father drives a huge wedge in their friendship, to the point that the two mustn't even talk to each other at school. The penalty for Mo's continued 'bad' influence will be Carys' removal to a church school.  


But where there is a will, there is a way. During history lessons, the class has been looking at Victorian asylums and who would be put in them. Sometimes, it was women who had the wrong lover or those with depression, grief, or learning disabilities such as autism. 


With her special and consuming interest in gymnastics taken from her and lessons at school fraught, MoMo finds a new passion in researching their local asylum, in which she soon discovers her great uncle was incarcerated.


Now, between pursuing a forbidden friendship, being persuaded to audition for a role in the school play, and venturing to look at and then go into the old asylum, we have a recipe for everything else that happens; the good and the very bad.

A lot plays out from here on, so to avoid any significant spoilers, I feel it best to stop the review here. Suffice it to say, things come to a dramatic and painful head.



So, what did we think?


This is a very compelling and sincere read from a skilled writer.


Even as recently as 2020, you'd be very hard-pressed to find secondary autistic and differently-abled characters in books for kids. Indeed, finding a lead character who also happened to be autistic was exceptionally rare. I can only think of one as I type. 


That all changed in the mainstream press in June 2020 with the publication of A Kind of Spark, by Elle McNicoll. See our review HERE.


Kids who are also autistic finally had a chance to see another autistic child in print being just themselves, capable, energetic, loveable and loving, and as mischievous as any other child—just slightly different but not less. 


The struggles they and their parents face—be it from other kids or from those who were there to teach but saw the one child as needy or a nuisance they didn't have time for—are laid bare for all to see. In so doing, things can be talked about, and action can be taken.


What makes this book so different and readable is that the author chose to have her lead character look at the way patients were treated in asylums of old, like Bethlem. Mo's great-uncle was committed to one in the town she lives in. The once elegant facade of Victorian society's reluctance to face anything or anyone even remotely divergent from the norm and a burgeoning medical regimen bordering on barbarism is reduced by vandalism and arson to a burnt-out, brooding skeleton of some ghastly behemoth. 


The secrets and tortures committed inside its walls in the name of medicine and family convenience have long since been lost to all. Only haunting images in sepia-stained photographs and fading entries in admittance logs remain. The relevance and connection to herself is not lost on Mo. 


This theme steers much of the story, both in and out of school, and leads to a catalytic and calamitous life-changing event towards the end. But it isn't everything. 


Running deftly alongside, we see our protagonist trying to gain and understand friendship. Onetime friends are now taunting enemies. Then there's the mystery of Carys? What drives this elusive young goth ally, who vanishes from school and would rather have a secret name? Is she actually a friend? There is also Mo dealing with puberty and other physical changes that are harder for those with sensory issues. 


It is also good to see that the story doesn't avoid adult issues and split families. Reality does bite and it is good to see a reflection of life, tempered for Middle Grade readers.



So, in conclusion. 


As important a book for youngsters on the autistic spectrum (and their family and teachers) as 'A Kind of Spark', by Elle McNicoll, was when published.


Truly inspired writing with a satisfyingly different theme covering more than just the now well-written-about aspects of and problems facing autistic children and families. Diverse and inclusive - writing at its very BEST. We started Friday morning and finished in the evening as we just had to know how it ended. We didn't once feel that the messages within were diluted or laboured.


All in all, there is something for everyone and enough of everything to make this a wholly satisfying and captivating read. A classroom must-read.



Want to buy a copy?


To get a copy, please avoid derelict buildings and head straight to your local independent bookshop. Or, order online. Most booksellers, large or small, will gladly get this for you.

 


 

Firefly Press web page can be found HERE or type this: https://fireflypress.co.uk/ 

Chloë Heuch's web page can be found HERE or type this:  https://www.chloeheuch.co.uk/ 

Veronica Carratello's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.veronicacarratello.com/ 


I shall leave you with a Selfie of ME!


We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, from the Cat on My Head blog in America. Click this sentence to visit Janet Blue's site.

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Till laters!

ERin

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Sunday, 19 May 2024

Michael, the Incredible Super-Sleuth Sausage Dog.

by  TERRIE CHILVERS,

Art by Tim Budgen  

  


 
                                                                                   

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring this week a Doggy Adventure in Middle Grade Fiction.

This week, we are delighted to share book 2 in the series about Michael, a highly talented and arguably self-absorbed mind-reading sausage dog. 
But fair dues, he grasped the nettle, or stick, in his jaws and ran with the talent he had, and it came good. But mirroring life, things do not always go well, and lessons have to be learnt. So join Mrs. H and me now as we see what Michael and his sidekick, Stanley Big Dog are up to . . . .
 


 


AUTHOR:  Terrie Chilvers

 

Cover & Internal Art by:  Tim Budgen 

 

Published by: Firefly Press

 

Publication date Paperback:  2 May 2024

 

 

Paperback ISBN: 978 - 1 915 444 516


UK Cover price for Paperback:  £6.99


Kindle UK price: £3.49

 

Pages: 168

 

Age range:  6+


Any dogs or cats? Just dogs


 

 

SPOILER ALERT

Some as to plot direction and characters.

 

SPOILER ALERT

Some as to plot direction and characters.


Thank you to... 

We are exceedingly grateful to Graeme at Firefly Publishers for agreeing to give us a copy of this fine adventure for our Read & Review. We loved the first adventure, and this was a must-read for us both.

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.

The plot

Michael the Sausage Dog has climbed the rungs of the Holywoof ladder, and after his success at the Canine Spectacular theatre show, he gets his own chat and mind-reading show – An Audience with Michael. He is the king of the hill. Well, he was. A new act in Tinsel Town has knocked back the ratings. Steve The Stunt Sausage Dog has caught everyone's attention. So much so that Michael can't get anyone to agree to come on. Nobody but Susan, the irritating Chocolate Labrador with a talent for balancing peanuts on her nose. Things really had sunk to a new low.

Things take a turn for the worse when Susan's star caravan is found empty, turned over and smelling very much of cheese. Susan has been DOGNAPPED!!!

Detective Wrinkles, a basset hound, declares the caravan a crime scene. After a bit of searching, they discover the ransom note on a seat under Stanley's bum. Quickly, they discover the signature calling card of notorious dog napper Dog X, a stinking wheel of exotic cheese.

The show must go on, but with no guests, our duo could be twiddling their paws. But, in a bizarre twist, Michael and Stanley Big Dog are to act in the ransom money drop! Detective Wrinkles, who really doesn't like Michael or believe in his talents, takes them to stay at the grotty Dog House Motel in a backwaters town called Three Paw Creek. The town's only claim to fame is that it houses the 'World's Biggest Stick' attraction. Naturally, Stanley just can't wait to take the lift to the top of this huge (and decidedly tree-like) stick!

Trapped in a seedy motel whilst Detective Wrinkles uses the rooms at the posh Bouncy Ball Hotel in the good end of town, it takes little time for Michael to feel hard done by. The chews supplied for breakfast were half-chewed, and their water bowl likely came from the puddle outside. The pair are also under strict instructions not to show their faces!

OK, as you can imagine, Michael, having a larger-than-life ego, and Stanley, being a dog of relatively little brain but full of life and a yen for seeing the BIGGEST stick in the world, soon break the rules. In fact, they are soon off investigating. Michael can see a ratings boost if he can be instrumental in saving Susan. 

The ransom drop is due later that day, so what could be the harm in checking things out?

What indeed, and therein sits the root of the adventure that unfolds. If it can go wrong, it does. Which is why we have to close the review just there. If you want to learn more about Stanley and his big stick or whether Michael gets his interview and the star ratings that his super talents (and ego) deserve, you'll just have to get the book.

So, what did we think?

This is a brilliant, dog-centric adventure. It plays to each breed's strengths and polite stereotypes in a delightfully comic, tongue-in-cheek, and childishly innocent and cheeky fashion. There are jokes and naughty words such as 'bum', and an almost vaudeville/Laurel & Hardy humour that I think kids will love, and adults will smile and maybe groan at. The light lessons Michael learns along the way will resonate with kids, parents, and teachers alike. 


So . . . .
Crunch time. 

A fun and easygoing read, delightfully illustrated by Tim Budgen, that left us with a smile on our faces and chuckles and laughs resonating through the room. It is a book that's so easy to love, which is why we feel it is an excellent, safe buy.

Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, avoiding ransom gangs and stinky cheese, please head down to your local independent bookshop. Big sticks are optional. There are plenty out there (both book shops and sticks), and each shop is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.


Book one review can be found by clicking this link HERE





Terrie Chilvers' web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.terriechilvers.com/


Tim Budgen's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://timbudgen.com/


Firefly Press' web page can be found HERE or type this: https://fireflypress.co.uk/


We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the excellent Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, from the Cat on My Head blog in America. Click this link to see Janet Blue's selfie page.

Small image. The Cat on My Head Sunday Selfies Blog Hop badge. Features a yellow-haired lady with a tuxedo cat on her head.

I shall leave you with NOT another Sofa Selfie. This time, and to prove I don't just sleep on the bed and or sofa, I can be seen monitoring the state of my driveway. Yup, it's a hard job (not least because of the hard surface, MOL), but one I am always up to, weather permitting. I also get to keep an eye out for many of the transient new felines in the area who seem to think my drive is some sort of free-to-use access way! 



 

Till Laters!

ERin


©Erin the Cat Princess