What a pleasure it was to read Rosie Jones’ debut novel – I zipped through it so quickly!
This book is all about 11 year old Edie, who is just about to start secondary school with her best friend Oscar. They do everything together – but will secondary school brings them even closer, or change their friendship forever? You see, Edie has cerebral palsy, and is used to having Oscar to help her navigate through life. But when she starts school she realises she might just have to be a little more independent than she usually is.
And that’s no bad thing! Edie starts to meet new people, discover new hobbies, and find out even more about herself in the first term of school than she ever dreamed possible. It’s such a heart-warming book to read; Edie isn’t perfect, but then again, who is? Much like most of us when we start a new school, she’s just trying to find new friends and fit in. Soon Edie ends up with the lead role in the school play and Oscar nabs himself a position on the football team- will they drift apart for good?
This is a really lovely book – there’s so much kindness from all of the characters. There’s no ‘baddie’, just normal people trying to do the right thing; kind of like real life, really. Edie is one of the few disabled main characters I’ve seen in a children’s book, and I’m so glad we’ve met her, but that’s not the main thing we need to know about her; she’s kind, fun, loves Marvel Comics and sausage rolls! It’s a super-positive and super-fun read, and if you’re a fan of Adrian Mole or Jacqueline Wilson, this might be the book for you!