Pages:
233
Publisher:
Little, Brown
Release
Date: 7th
May 2015
Edition:
UK proof, review
copy
Other
Titles by this Author: the
Rachel Riley series, the Penny Dreadful series, Wonderland and many more!
No
parents, no rules… no problem?
When
13-year-old Joe is left behind in Peckham while his mum flies to Spain on
holiday, he decides to treat it as an adventure, and a welcome break from Dean,
her latest boyfriend. Joe begins to explore his neighbourhood, making a tentative
friendship with Asha, a fellow fugitive hiding out at her grandfather’s flat.
But
then the food and money run out, his mum doesn’t come home, and the local thugs
catch up with him. Joe realises time is running out too, and makes a decision
that Will change his life forever.
Joe
All Alone was my
first of Joanna Nadin’s books and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Joe’s narration is so personable
and easy to read that I whizzed through it in about two hours! He’s a sweet,
awkward boy who’s fumbling his way into being a teenager without the advantages
of a supportive, loving family and a group of friends that have his back and I really
felt for him. Joe’s mum isn’t horrible at all and she isn’t completely
neglectful; Joe says that it wasn’t like this before Dean, and that’s a really
interesting thread in the story. How severely a person can be influenced by
someone in their lives and completely turn their personality around – their character
isn’t good or bad, this way or that – is something that isn’t often discussed
in early teen novels.
Joanna Nadin set up some really
interesting conversations for younger readers both with Joe’s mum and Dean’s
attitude. It is made clear by Joe throughout the novel that making friends with
Asha is a risk for him because Asha is black and Dean is racist. With issues of
race, social situation and education in run-down areas of south-east London and
crime, Joe All Alone is an important
book that I sincerely hope makes its way into libraries.
Joe doesn’t get a traditional,
cheesy happy ending, but he I think he the right one: the life-affirming one
that makes you believe in the right things. Definitely give this one a go!
Thanks to Little, Brown for the
review copy!
Sophie
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a message, I'd love to hear from you!