"Expertly crafted plot and incredible characterisation combine in this moving story of trauma recovery and determination."
October 2025 Debut of the Month
Jodie Jones is super intelligent but failing at school. Jodie Jones will only answer you if you call her by her full name: Jodie Jones. Jodie Jones loves words but struggles to talk openly with most people.
Life is not easy for 15-year-old Jodie Jones, she is still struggling in the aftermath of a violent, traumatic event 5 years ago. Her family grows further apart everyday and even her best friend, Becca, is growing exasperated with her. With a super-skilled pen, Shevah slowly reveals Jodie Jones’ full truth, ensuring she will remain with readers long after the last page.
My Name is Jodie Jones is a masterclass in character development and characterisation, with even secondary characters feeling real enough to leap from the page. Jodie Jones herself is impossible not to empathise with and be impressed by. Her toxic mother is a literary villain that will make eyes pop and head shake. Alongside these incredibly realised characters is an expertly crafted tense plot that skilfully builds to an unforgettable climax.
Adding light and humour to Jodie Jones’ world is her obsession with finding words and sentences that she finds beautiful enough to collect. Her entertaining wordplay and thoughtful observations about the absurdities of language will be a welcome vocabulary stretch for even the most erudite of readers, as well as bringing many a smile.
Above all else though, this is an unflinching look at the pain and torture of growing up with an abusive, manipulative and wholly inadequate parent. These are not the type of characters regularly met in fiction, certainly not in YA, but we should all be thankful that Emma Shevah and her publishers have had the bravery to shine a light on such unpalatable truths.
Only occasionally are we lucky enough as readers to find a book that is written with such skill and clarity that it feels like it is talking directly to us, this is one of those books. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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This is a powerful story about resilience, friendship, and finding your voice.
My Name is Jodie Jones is an emotional and inspiring story about a fifteen year old girl who sees the world in her own unique way. While most people around her care about grades or fitting in, Jodie is obsessed with words. She loves how they sound, how they flow, and the rhythm they make. For her, language is like music, and that makes her different.
At home, though, being different is not celebrated. Jodie’s mom is harsh and obsessed with looking perfect.... Read Full Review
An enthralling novel about an inquisitive teen who hides a painful secret but powers through and emerges victorious! You will fall in love with Jodie Jones just like I did!
This is definitely one of my best reads this year! Emma Shevah is a brilliant author who weaves her tales with wordy skill and creates enthralling characters including the incredibly intelligent and perceptive Jodie Jones. As someone who find beauty in poetry and books, Jodie... sorry! I mean Jodie Jones, felt like a character I could relate to. Disguising her passion as a theraphy needing, word-obsessed syndrome, Jodie Jones weaves her way around a dangerous figure close to home in order to save her family from abuse and neglect in an ingeniously brave and admirable manner that can only be described as pure brilliance and wit. Her compelling thought process will fascinate the reader and make them rethink literature and poetry with a new vision.... Read Full Review
My Name Is Jodie Jones needs the recognition for displaying neurodivergency that it deserves! The words dance on the page, and ignite emotion! A riveting, provoking read. I almost cried.
My Name Is Jodie Jones is an exceptionally enjoyable book. It is extremely well-written and accurately portrays autism and neurodivergence. As an avid logophile myself, I admire Jodie's sentence collecting, and her passion for her friends, Moses and Becca. My main issue is with Jodie Jones' mother, who, it is eventually revealed, is a narcissist. This was obvious, throughout the book, that the mother is dysfunctional, and my question is how people didn't notice it. I understand that the mother puts on a front in the presence of strangers and friends, but surely, they would notice how she never had anything good to say about Jodie or Champ/Charlie? Regarding Charlie, I think more could be said about his homosexuality, and his coming out to Moses, his closest friend?... Read Full Review
From then on, I collected sentences like other people collect keyrings. I searched for them everywhere . . .
Jodie Jones is obsessed with words. Yet she can't find the ones to say what happened that day five years ago, with her mum, on the bridge.
Struggling in school and at home, she takes comfort in her safe places: her books. Her best friend. And her brother's friend, Moses - who makes her feel something new.
But when hidden family truths come to light and life starts to implode, can Jodie Jones find the words she needs to save herself?
A compelling, witty, moving love letter to the magic of words.
A highly original story exploring coming-of-age, language and hidden trauma, with a whip-smart, complex and unforgettable protagonist.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed My Name is Jodie Jones and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
My Name is Jodie Jones features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Featured Books for Young Adults, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Stories about Family and Friends, Romance / Relationship Stories, PSHE: Bereavement and Grief, PSHE: Family Issues, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
My Name is Jodie Jones is available in Paperback
My Name is Jodie Jones was written by Emma Shevah and published by David Fickling Books
My Name is Jodie Jones has 343 pages
£8.09
