An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Cat Princess©
Hello, and welcome to my Saturday Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction!
As many of you will be aware, we love sharing inclusive books that shine a positive light on subjects and people who would otherwise find themselves marginalised, unrepresented or misrepresented in children's literature.
After all, differences make us each unique and bring colour and joy to our lives. Being able to see ourselves and those like us is a massive step towards a harmonious life and crucial for children and adults alike.
So this week, Mrs H and I have the delight to introduce one such book. But enough of the intro, here’s our review of Call Me Lion by Camilla Chester.
CALL ME LION, by CAMILLA CHESTER
Published by: FIREFLY PRESS LIMITED
Publication date: 16 June 2022
Paperback ISBN: 978 - 1913102890
Cover price for Paperback £7.99, KINDLE CURRENTLY £2.84
Pages 208.
Age range: Middle Grade
Any cats? No cats, but an adorable dog called Patch!
SPOILER ALERT
No spoilers here.
Disclaimer.
We were lucky enough to see and download this book on NetGalley for free. I was so pleased with this story that we will be purchasing the paperback on publication and are only too happy to share this unsponsored review with you.
The plot
When Leo, 'Lion' to his family because of his bountiful orange hair, his life without friends changes forever.
Having SM, Selective Mutism, Leo plays alone. He desperately wants a friend. But he has no friends bar his dog, Patch. After all, as one of his classmates said, 'you can't be friends with someone who can't talk — fact.'
What people don't see, don't know or understand, is that his SM is not something he can control. It controls him, at least with people he doesn't know well and trusts. With his family he is OK. Leo has a gift, a talent for dancing, and he practices every day in summer on his trampoline and in the holidays at a dance club. He is a boy on a mission to dance in The Lion King theatre show one day.
When a new family moves in next door, their daughter, Richa, bounces quite literally on her own trampoline into his life. Brash, bold and talkative enough for them both, she seems everything Leo isn't. And yet she is also everything he hopes for — a possible friend. At least until she realises he can't talk and that the girls at school are more fun and abandons him. But him not being able to respond doesn't put her off, and together they begin a journey borne out of a shared passion for dance that culminates in a local dance competition.
So, what did we think?
I really can not praise this story enough. Written in Leo's own voice and spread over a few weeks of school holidays and during a heatwave. It follows Leo and Richa, their families and schoolmates as they deal with life, friendships, ignorance, prejudices, and the very real challenges that their own unique situations pose.
A plot twist partway through the story left me stunned and completely in awe of the writer's skill.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the reading journey, and had tears in our eyes towards the end.
So . . . .
Crunch time.
A delightful, inclusive, thoroughly absorbing story with a message that is far, far greater than its target age group. A must-read that I am sure will please readers and listeners of all ages.
Want to buy a copy?
To get a copy, please do bounce, jive, swing, disco or even tango your way to your local independent bookshop.
CAMILLA CHESTER's web page can be found HERE. https://www.camillachester.com/
FIREFLY PRESS Publishing's web page can be found HERE. https://fireflypress.co.uk/
If any authors or publishers wish us to review their books, please do get in touch. Details are listed on our book review page.
And for all my fans out there, I leave you with a picture of me practicing my toy mouse catching skills. . .
Till later!
ERin
