The Read Around The World Book Club discussion
December 2017 - Netherlands
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Melanie
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Nov 30, 2017 12:38PM
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This was a very quick book, thought it was ol, the last half was definitely better than the first
Thought this book was okay, it was a very quick read, I liked the second half of this book better. I didn’t have as much of an emotional response as I thought I would. Also I didn’t like the writing style x
I didn’t really like Kiki—there was something disturbing about her from the beginning—but that stunt with Mona at the bridge put me right off her. I get that she was going through some stuff, but she’d been plotting against Mona for a while. Her lack of affect makes me think she might be on the spectrum; did anyone else get that feeling?
MsAprilVincent wrote: "I didn’t really like Kiki—there was something disturbing about her from the beginning—but that stunt with Mona at the bridge put me right off her. I get that she was going through some stuff, but s..."I had similar thoughts, but I got stuck more on the play on how things grown-ups say (the whole story about the odds) can have such unexpected impacts on kids...
:), so I liked Kiki, her concern for her father, her sense of guilt and her incredibly pithy and insightful pronouncements, especially in the first half of the book which hooked me: 'But my father is a doctor, and they need doctors in a war. My father likes to be needed.' or 'My mother loves stuff that's wrecked. Our living room is full of things that normal people would throw out.....My father doesn't care about stuff. He only cares about people.' I think I also felt a personal connection with the story because her father and I seem to at least a few controversial traits in common so I'm glad she got the best grade in her class for honestly expressing her career preference for hairdressing or flying over becoming a police officer!I enjoyed the story and the linguistic and narrative economy really complemented the big, important issues that it deals with.
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Just finished. I agree with Mel, the language is very simplistic but the tone really patronizing and something felt a bit off. I really disliked the bridge part and thought the first part of the book was stronger than the second. I had the impression the author had some kind of idea that was not fully developed and didn't really go anywhere. It fell flat pretty quickly.
Ok this is a huge spoiler so hope you all read the book if you’re here! I thought for sure her Dad was dead. So I was very relieved at the ending and I liked the second part of the book better, when it was not focusing on changing the odds. I felt for Kiki especially dealing with other kids saying things about her Dad etc. sometimes when people try to help it comes across as insensitive to the person going thru it which is the exact opposite of what they wanted! I thought the teacher sort of put her in the spotlight which maybe she wouldn’t like so much. And then how the father still doesn’t want to stay grounded after putting his family through all of that anguish... although I completely understand not letting fear dictate your life, just felt sorry for Kiki and her family.I wish there were more things about the Netherlands in the story. The book made me think about how kids handle difficult situations like Kiki did but I can’t imagine that I would give this book to many kids to read.
*Spoilers* I liked that the author made Kiki believable as a young girl. Kiki does handle the fear of her father dying in a very disturbing way but I did feel that it might be something a child would think/do when trying to deal with possibly losing a parent.
We got really nothing on the adults other than what Kiki observes so I was left with wanting to know more about her parents.
The language in this book seems to be written for a younger child than middle grade but the subject matter is middle grade or older.
I honestly would not recommend this to a middle grade child. Overall I liked the book. It held my attention and I did feel for Kiki and what her family was dealing with. I think it gave a pretty accurate account of what it would be like having a family member missing in a war zone and while the rest of the family tries to get through the day.
It's interesting that you say you wouldn't recommend this to a middle grader Maggie Chats, personally I think I would love this book when I was that age. Because I loved reading about more serious topics. I think it is important with books with serious topics that when you give it to a child, you have to make sure they have someone they can talk to about these subjects. But other than that, I have no problem recommending this book, if we go by subject matter alone. I don't think this book is especially well written, but I do think it is suitable for the age group and interesting if a child wants to know more about the subject or maybe has someone in their lives who also have jobs where they leave for longer periods.
Marcella - I do agree that this book would be appropriate for a middle grader if they had someone to talk to about it. My issue wasn't the topic of war but the thoughts and actions Kiki is willing to take with her pets.I am curious to know if you read the Dutch version of the book or the English translation. The book won quite a few awards so I thought maybe the writing might have been better in Dutch and the translation took away from it.
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I wondered the same thing.
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I agree that I would have no issue with Dharma reading this book, they have a ton of these books in their school library. I am tempted to post you the English book to get your opinion on the English translation.
