KJK Reads

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Children's Fiction, Cancer  Thoughts: This is a great but also kinda heartbreaking book. The story itself is great and I’m sure it will help so many young children get their heads around someone they love getting cancer but it's also heartbreaking that children so young will need it. The illustrations are soft and gentle and help talk children step by step of what may happen in the cancer journey so they can feel more prepared and ultimately end happy to help reduce the children's worries. Favourite Quote: “It isn't anybody's fault. Cancer doesn't come because you have been naughty or cross with someone.”

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Autism Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. It was so interesting and kind of refreshing to see the approach to parenting, and especially parenting a child with Autism (the phrasing that Guttman uses himself) from the male and father point of view. The book was both hopeful and realistic as Guttman gives readers hope with bonding and understanding he and Lucas have been able to form but still realistic about Lucas’ struggles so as not to give false hope to parents reading. I think the short chapters were great for jumping in and out of and it will be especially useful for those with high needs autistic children themselves to be able to fit in around the child's needs. Favourite Quote “Autism doesn't end your world; it just opens the door to one you never knew existed. As for the challenges, they can be tough, but they're worth the trade-off and are completely manageable. In fact,...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Poetry  Thoughts: This is a short and sweet poetry collection with the theme being light but that is all so we get to see many different interpretations of light with each poet bringing something slightly different either through their own poem or their additional one. I liked that the poets explained their inspiration after each poem as we were able to bring our own interpretations to the poem and then get to see the poets’ intention afterwards. I also liked that some poets also provided writing tips to help those aspiring poets reading the collection.  Favourite Quote: “Adults forget what it's like to play with stars and when children offer to teach them they're far too busy”

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Prequel, Novella, Thriller, Mystery Thoughts: This is quite a short and fast paced book that has an interesting plot. At just 136 pages I thought it could be a good introduction to Slaughter’s work but I think I may have to try another to make a fair decision. I did like the strong independent female character of Charlie as while she is able to look after herself she still has people who love and care for her rather than her having to do it all alone. Flora and the story winding around her keeps you guessing a little and she’s definitely a complex and interesting character. However, I did feel that the nausea and what it indicated felt like an overdone cliche and that the story itself feels a little unresolved but hopefully with it being a prequel a lot of the bits that felt unresolved will be handled in The Good Daughter book. Favourite Quote: “There was nothing more torturous, more lonely, than being iced out by a gaggle of teenage girls.”

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Poetry, Disability Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This poetry anthology contains a broad range of disabilities, including invisible and rarer ones and I was happy to find one with my disability as it’s rare but I felt so seen. I liked the note on disability and identity at the beginning, especially as person first or disability first is a hotly debated topic in the community with some being offended by one or the other so we’re aware we may see both and it lets those who will be upset to make the decision straight off whether they want to continue or not. I also liked the photo and mini biography being there with the poem instead of all at the end as when that happens I often find myself having to flick back and remind myself what’s going on with my condition impacting memory, which makes it inclusive. However, having the poem origin before we read the poem itself is different and it kind of ensure...

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Young Adult, Race, Fiction Thoughts: I absolutely devoured this book. I knew from the off this was gonna be a deep and intense book and it didn’t disappoint. Jerome is so mature in his actions caring for his family when alive and at the same time we can see him acting his normal age when he gets frustrated with it all. I’ve seen kids behave like that myself so Jerome feels like a very real child of that age in those circumstances. It’s interesting that we see so much about the family of the cop who shot him, especially the daughter but I can see how some may interpret it a little like it centres the sympathy of the perpetrator a little too much. Although I personally did like the angle it took with that in terms of the purpose of these Ghost Boys and the reason why we need to see a lot from Sarah and the cops perspective. I liked that it flipped back and forth between dead and alive as it built up the tension and also reminded us just how young and innocent Jero...