SHOW US WHO YOU ARE

by Elle McNicoll;  

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Cat Princess©

 

Hello, and welcome to my Saturday Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction!

 

This week we have the pleasure of reviewing the second book by Elle McNicoll, called Show Us Who You Are. You will recall last week we reviewed A Kind of Spark (a link to that story is HERE).

This book features Cora and Adrien, aged twelve.

 

SHOW US WHO YOU ARE, by ELLE MCNICOLL

 

Published by: KNIGHTS OF.

 

Cover artwork by KAY WILSON

Paperback ISBN: 978 - 1 - 9133111 - 3 -1

Cover price for Paperback £6.99 (or cheaper)

Pages 310.

Age range: 8 and upwards

 

 

 

SPOILER ALERT

No spoilers alerts.

 

The Plot: 

When 12-year-old Cora's brother, Gregor, insists she goes to his boss's party, it's fair to say she isn't keen. She certainly isn't looking to make new friends. Strange people in a strange place, it's not her thing. More masking and getting stressed. The party is for his son, Adrien, a boy she never even knew existed until a short while before.

 

There's an ulterior motive for her being at the party, but more on that in a moment. Having been ushered away from the noisy party and adults, Cora is sent out into the garden to find the birthday boy, Adrien. After knocking him down, thinking he was about to attack her, Cora soon finds Adrien is a rather unusual boy. Homeschooled because of his ADHD, Adrien is intelligent, witty and fun to be around. He has a really great dog, a mixed breed called Cerby, to whom he is devoted. Much to his father's annoyance.

The two kids  strike it off, and Adrien tells of his life with ADHD, and Cora explains about being autistic. They are, Adrien explains, the same. Their minds are different from everyone else. 

The actual reason for Adrien's father inviting Cora to the party was to get her help in his work. His company, the Pomegranate Institute, uses high tech to create AI holographic copies of people. These will be stored and can interact with people, for a fee. This to Cora, who recently lost her mother, seems terrific. The ability to talk and resolve things that couldn't be said in a person's life, to speak with the rich and famous, or for the AI to do mundane jobs seems magical and a dream come true. 

Or is it?

Adrien is against his fathers work. He hates it and had the weeks-long barrage of questions fired at him that ultimately shaped the AI hologram of himself. Cora's father is against it, too, even though he misses his wife intensely. To him, it is wrong. 

Who is right? 

 

Battling against emotions and ethics, an event takes place that will shape what happens next in the story and make Cora agree to participate in Pomegranate's research. But there is a dark secret lurking just below the glossy pristine surface of Pomegranate and its staff, one that changes everything once more for Cora. Now the race is on to expose the truth. . . . 

 

So, what did we think?

 

Stunning. Such a wonderfully creative, emotional, and thought-provoking adventure. It was a book that we really didn't want to put down. In the nicest possible way, it demands that the reader takes note and makes choices. It informs and challenges ideas, beliefs, ethics and, dare I say it, prejudices also. 

Mrs H and I didn't see the villain of the piece coming. We cried and laughed and then cried some more. What's more, we celebrated Adrien and Cora's differences. Life is, after all, a celebration of all things, all creatures and people, no matter the differences. And make no mistake, we are all different or diverse (none more so than Mrs H, but don't tell her I said that) and as a result, all very special (you can tell Mrs H that I said that!).                        

So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

 

This is Elle's second novel, and she has crafted another mould-breaking story. An absolute must-read. Adult or child, this is one of those books that I think all would enjoy and would have benefitted from being around years ago.

Elle's new book, Like a Charm, a magical adventure set in the atmospheric and historic city of Edinburgh, is out in February. We will be reviewing this as soon as we can get hold of a copy.

Till then, please do come back for more Adventures in Middle-Grade reading. 

 

Want to buy a copy?

 

To get copy, please do consider your local independent bookshop first. 

 

I cannot stress enough how important both they and small independant publishers like Nights Of publishing (who published this book) are to the whole eco system of really cool books. 

 

Books like this, that have brought undoubted pleasure and helped and informed tens of thousands, would not have existed without them.

 

Elle McNicoll's web page can be found HERE. https://ellemcnicoll.com/

 

Nights Of web page can be found HERE. http://knightsof.media/

 

If any authors, publishers wish us to review their books, please do get in touch. Details are listed on our book review page.

 

And now, for all our fans, here is a picture of me contemplating the latest WORDLE game. Notice the furrowed expression in the duvet!

Sleepy Wordle Erin ©Erin the cat princess.

Till laters!

 

ERin

 

If any authors or publishers wish us to review their books, please do get in touch. Details are listed on our book review page.

 

 

Till laters!

 

ERin

 

A KIND OF SPARK

by Elle McNicoll;  

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Cat Princess©

 
 

 

 

Hello, and welcome to my Saturday Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction!

 

We are delighted to bring you the first of four books that feature neurodiverse (ND) characters and or have been written by ND authors. Understanding who you are and diversity are subjects close to our hearts. Thankfully they are getting far more attention in children's literature and awareness is being raised. As important is the fact these books bring characters to those who have previously not seen themselves in literature. That is very empowering.

 

We could say so much about neurodiversity as a preface to these book reviews. But on thinking about it, we won't. Rather, we will let the stories that the authors have so ably crafted tell their tales and provide the insight.

 

So, without further ado, I bring you our first book – A Kind of Spark. This was written by fellow Scot, Elle McNicoll and was her debut work. Her second book, Show Us Who You Are, will be reviewed next week. Like a Charm, her third book, is out in February of this year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A KIND OF SPARK, by ELLE McNICOLL

 

Published by: KNIGHTS OF.

 

Cover artwork by the very talented Kay Wilson 

Paperback ISBN: 978 - 1 - 9133110 - 5 - 6

Cover price for Paperback £6.99 (or cheaper)

Pages 187.

Age range: 8 and upwards

The Plot: 

 

Addie, her parents and twin elder sisters Keedie and Nina live in the village of Juniper, not far from Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

Addie, aged 11, is autistic, as is Keedie, who is struggling at university. 

 

Sharks are Addie's passion, and she reads as much as she can on the subject. She is also passionate about finding new words from her thesaurus, a gift from Keedie. 

 

When the new term begins, the class start to learn about the Scottish witch trials. For Addie, the injustices and atrocities committed on local innocent women strike deep. The similarities between them and the persecution by her own teacher and bullying by a classmate for being 'different' are not lost on Addie, and she feels impassioned to do something. 

 

A memorial commemorating the fifty or so local women dragged off from their village seems just right. But, the local council think the whole witch trial business is a matter to be swept away under a carpet and forgotten. 

 

And so begins Addie's journey and battle.

 

But will she win? The council is against her, and some residents have vested interests elsewhere. And the very teacher that haunted Keedie's time at school, made it hell, and caused meltdowns through its unrelenting unkindness towards her autism, is now Addie's too!

And that's where we must leave this review. Clearly, there is far more to discover. But the best stories need to be allowed to tell themselves as the absolute pleasure is in the detail and the journey.

 

 

So, what did we think?

It was not until Mrs H, and I picked up a copy of the fabulous 'The London Eye Mystery', a book that we will be reviewing for you soon, that we started to understand about being autistic. After that, we were only too pleased to discover A Kind of Spark had just been released. The more we read, the more we liked and loved the characters and the insight we got. This is, without doubt, a gem.

 

We see the world through Addie's eyes. And in words written by an ND writer and wrought from experience. Together they tackle some complicated issues on her journey and fight. The story doesn't pull its punches either, and there is a lot to take away about how people react to differences and what it is like to be different, both past and present.

 

This story has been lauded by the literary world. But more importantly, far greater praise has come from parents, teachers and kids alike. It is an excellent example of a new voice, telling a story that needed to be told, for those that needed to hear it, neurodivergent or not.

 

At 187 pages, this is an easy and quick read for those that want to or can. Me, I am a slow reader and enjoyed a long, pleasurable weekend in Addie's company. 

So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

 

I would be surprised if many kids haven't read this by now, as it really is very, very popular. But if you know someone who hasn't, or if this review has whetted your appetite to read and discover more about autism and being ND, then I recommend it wholeheartedly.

 

  

Want to buy a copy?

 

To get a copy, please do consider your local independent bookshop first. I cannot stress enough how vital both they and independent publishers like Nights Of publishing are to the whole ecosystem of really cool books. Books like this that have brought undoubted pleasure and helped and informed tens of thousands would not have existed without them. 

 

Elle McNicoll's web page can be found HERE. https://ellemcnicoll.com/

 

Nights Of web page can be found HERE. http://knightsof.media/

 

If any authors, publishers or agents wish us to review their books, please do get in touch. Details are listed on our book review page.

 

 

Till laters!

 

ERin