Little Bang

LoveReading4Kids Says

January 2024 Book of the Month

I am sure many readers will be stunned to discover that abortions were illegal in Northern Ireland as recently as 2018 and are still more difficult there than the rest of the UK.

This is a story that needs to be told and the authenticity and sensitivity with which it is told, bears witness to the award-winning author’s direct experience in schools and the stories she has heard from young people. The shy science- nerd Mel and Sid the slacker songwriter, are immediately convincing and the dialogue throughout is laced with brilliantly black Northern Irish humour. But their predicament, falling pregnant after their first inexperienced fumbles, is far from funny. They are from different sectarian communities and watching them struggle with the different societal pressures and family reactions is heartbreaking. They are trying to do the right thing- they both step up to the plate - prepared to accept responsibility, but gradually what dawns on Mel is that this is her decision alone and nobody, even Sid, has the right to tell her what to do.

What is so powerful is how the author gives space and voice to the different opinions on abortion and does not dictate how the reader should feel. This is by no means a polemical, issues led book. The characters are so nuanced, and the situations so realistically portrayed that the reader lives this experience with them and is given space to feel for both protagonists and to make up their own mind about the issues. Moving, compassionate and beautifully told this is an essential and important taboo- breaking book for young people to read.

Joy Court

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