On the Other Hand

by Jean Gill

A young adult novel

Jamie is left-handed and fed up of being called clumsy by Kelly and her gang. To cheer her up, her friend Ryan looks up famous left-handers on the internet and discovers some surprises, from footballers to mad musicians and a computer genius. Jamie launches a day's protest at prejudice against lefties, in school, her left hand tied behind her back, and ends up in trouble with the Head, but things don't turn out the way Kelly hoped.

Just when their campaign is going well, Ryan's mother drags him off to live in America where he faces bullying at its most deadly. Jamie has to wait for the next email to know whether Ryan is coping or whether the worst has happened.

Genres: Young Adult

136 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2005

About the author

Award-winning Welsh author and photographer Jean Gill lives in Provence with the best scent-hound in the world, a Nikon D750 and a man. Best known for writing epic medieval adventures in The Troubadours and The Midwinter Dragon series, Jean has published 27 multi-genre books since 1988, including the dog bestseller 'Someone To Look Up To'. Although she’s hung up her beekeeping gloves, she still cares about her wild neighbours, which include boar, badgers, foxes and hares.

For many years, she taught English, and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in the Welsh county of Dyfed. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life was hectic. With Scottish parents, Welsh and French residence and an English birthplace, she can usually shout for the winning team in sporting events.

She loves to hear from readers. Contact via her jeangill website.

Reviews

[Charity]

For full review please go to: 5girlsbookreviews.blogspot.com, Twitter @camartinez and Facebook "5 Girls Book Reviews"

REVIEW BY: Angel, age 13 years

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This book was a short interesting read. It really moved me with how people will do every little thing they can to make what they believe get across to others.

This book is about a girl named Jamie that is left handed. She has a hard life because people tease and taunt her because she is left handed. Her friend, Ryan, and her start fighting back by researching left handed famous people. That's not all, Jamie does a whole day with her left hand behind her back.

[Evelyn]

This is a nice book, about how being different is attacked by a young lady and her friend. It is definitely a Young Adult book, and might be enjoyed more by readers younger than I. I did keep thinking about using this story to help kids learn about the effects of bullying, or how to address some bullying issues. It has a nice plot twist when you learn that her friend has a "difference" of his own and how he deals with it, both in England and in the US.