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katykelly's review
4.0
A timely story of the immigration experience, with a little magic thrown in
Leelu has moved to grey, cold London from her warm home country, with her mum and brother, leaving a much-loved father behind. Struggling to adapt to the new environment, she starts to receive gifts in a tree near her new flat. She doesn't know where from, but it does seem that they possess special powers...
A story of learning to fit in, of family, Leelu's story is sad and uplifting, and a rather unusual look at immigration from the point of view of a young girl living through it.
I particularly liked certain scenes - Leelu's first day at school for example, a scene that will hit home with any young person whose experienced a new school. Personally, I found the 'magical item' storyline a little unnecessary and out of place, it felt like a Boo Radley (To Kill a Mockingbird) storyline until the 'magical realism' element kicked in. I wasn't sure I understood how it all ended for the character in question.
Some excitement with Leelu's elder brother will keep KS3 readers interested and it makes the story relevant and accessible to a wider readership.
I adored 'Boy in Tower', more of a sci-fi for a slightly younger audience. Ho-Yen is adept at choosing protagonists who are outsiders or with issues that make them stand out, connecting with readers.
One for ages 10-14.
Leelu has moved to grey, cold London from her warm home country, with her mum and brother, leaving a much-loved father behind. Struggling to adapt to the new environment, she starts to receive gifts in a tree near her new flat. She doesn't know where from, but it does seem that they possess special powers...
A story of learning to fit in, of family, Leelu's story is sad and uplifting, and a rather unusual look at immigration from the point of view of a young girl living through it.
I particularly liked certain scenes - Leelu's first day at school for example, a scene that will hit home with any young person whose experienced a new school. Personally, I found the 'magical item' storyline a little unnecessary and out of place, it felt like a Boo Radley (To Kill a Mockingbird) storyline until the 'magical realism' element kicked in. I wasn't sure I understood how it all ended for the character in question.
Some excitement with Leelu's elder brother will keep KS3 readers interested and it makes the story relevant and accessible to a wider readership.
I adored 'Boy in Tower', more of a sci-fi for a slightly younger audience. Ho-Yen is adept at choosing protagonists who are outsiders or with issues that make them stand out, connecting with readers.
One for ages 10-14.
bear_reading's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
libs_readsalot's review
4.0
Heartfelt and amazing, the writing style blew me away. I loved this book and couldn't put it down. The plot twists and hidden themes/secrets are clear within the story, and I love the message of new beginnings and finding your place within your environment. I recommend this to all ages, but more 11+
tiina_g's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Good book for younger readers.
jjones229's review
4.0
This is a heart-felt book about a young girl (Leelu) and her family as they struggle to settle in the UK after leaving their home Country (and their beloved Father) behind. Throw in some magic and some issues with an older brother finding his own difficult way through the upheaval and you have a very satisfying, thoughtful read for 9-12 year olds. What makes this book stand out for me though are the scenes set in the classroom and the playground when Leelu is so bewildered by being in a completely new situation and is totally overwhelmed. You feel those difficult scenes so clearly with her that I'm sure that anyone reading them would really build up their empathy for anyone else that they met or saw who was going through a similar thing or would identify with it if they had gone through it themselves. Polly Ho-Yen's own experience of teaching in an inner-London Primary School and caring about the children that she taught and the lives that they live really shines through in this book which is what makes it so special.
fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Bullying and Homophobia
larrys's review
2.0
Some middle grade books have a universal audience. This is not one of them -- this is a solid MG book for a MG audience, and that's not a criticism. It is what it is. Leela trying to fit in at her London school reads like a blow-by-blow account of school life minutiae which would probably be quite useful to a kid in the same position.
Others have compared this book to Skellig, and that's the book I thought of too, what with the bird imagery and some inverted gender tropes and a vulnerable elderly figure in the neighbourhood, but David Almond is a high bar and the writing quality is just not here.
Namely, the didacticism feels heavy-handed when the lessons are delivered via dialogue from adult characters, not once but each and every time. It's the mother who tells us about how unfair it is that other countries don't have marriage equality. It's Bo who delivers the environmental message -- both times in dialogue. It's the teacher who tells us -- again via dialogue -- how to fit in at school and find your voice.
When I say some gender tropes have been inverted here, I'm talking about male characters compared to birds this time (indicating vulnerability, usually female characters are birds), and it's the little sister who goes on a (short) journey to save her older brother. Usually it's the boys saving the girls, of course.
Other gender tropes have been maintained -- the unsympathetic mother, the cool-girl-tomboy who is a necessary sidekick since Leela herself is too anxious to do anything on her own, at first, and must learn from the far more outgoing, soccer-loving Colombian girl on her street.
The first person limited point of view gives readers only a peep-hole look at all the racial issues that feed the wider story, which is partly why I call it a book for child readers. I do think that young readers can deal with a bit more, however. Interesting in 2017 that MG writers are able to write about LGBT marriage, not a topic for MG until recently. (It's not shown in this book -- just talked about.)
The big reveal is that the father is in prison, and that's why he hasn't joined his family in London. He's a good guy -- an LGBT activist. We do get a happy ending, with family reuniting at the end. The father magically turns up. Because we didn't see any of that drama nor do we see it resolved and it therefore feels a little too tidy -- the father has turned up because the book must end. The ending actually reminded me of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl, where the girl is reunited with her grandmother bathed in magical light. And if I were a mad fan theorist I might come away thinking Leela has just been killed and she's meeting him in heaven.
I digress.
Where on earth is Leela's family from? I'm sure it's a very deliberate thing, keeping the family's exact nationality off the page. This turns the immigrant story into a more universal one. But because we don't have any idea of where she comes from, it's hard to really empathise with just how different London must be for her. We know she used to be more connected to nature and she came from wider spaces and had more confidence in her own country. In the end, this is a 'moving house, new school' story. Others may disagree, but this does not feel like the particular story of a particular group of people to me. It was this lack of specificity which made it hard for me to empathise with the character.
Oh, and this is the third 2017 MG book in a row I've read in which a girl pines after her absent father while getting annoyed with her unsympathetic mother, until finally the child understands the mother a bit better at the end. If it's a trend I'm sure this is an enduring one, but what is it saying about the roles of parents right now? Are kids not seeing enough of their fathers, so pine after wonderful patriarchal figures in fiction? Is that it? I'm not sure what I think about this. Maybe it's not a trend at all, and just a coincidence of reading choice.
Others have compared this book to Skellig, and that's the book I thought of too, what with the bird imagery and some inverted gender tropes and a vulnerable elderly figure in the neighbourhood, but David Almond is a high bar and the writing quality is just not here.
Namely, the didacticism feels heavy-handed when the lessons are delivered via dialogue from adult characters, not once but each and every time. It's the mother who tells us about how unfair it is that other countries don't have marriage equality. It's Bo who delivers the environmental message -- both times in dialogue. It's the teacher who tells us -- again via dialogue -- how to fit in at school and find your voice.
When I say some gender tropes have been inverted here, I'm talking about male characters compared to birds this time (indicating vulnerability, usually female characters are birds), and it's the little sister who goes on a (short) journey to save her older brother. Usually it's the boys saving the girls, of course.
Other gender tropes have been maintained -- the unsympathetic mother, the cool-girl-tomboy who is a necessary sidekick since Leela herself is too anxious to do anything on her own, at first, and must learn from the far more outgoing, soccer-loving Colombian girl on her street.
The first person limited point of view gives readers only a peep-hole look at all the racial issues that feed the wider story, which is partly why I call it a book for child readers. I do think that young readers can deal with a bit more, however. Interesting in 2017 that MG writers are able to write about LGBT marriage, not a topic for MG until recently. (It's not shown in this book -- just talked about.)
The big reveal is that the father is in prison, and that's why he hasn't joined his family in London. He's a good guy -- an LGBT activist. We do get a happy ending, with family reuniting at the end. The father magically turns up. Because we didn't see any of that drama nor do we see it resolved and it therefore feels a little too tidy -- the father has turned up because the book must end. The ending actually reminded me of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl, where the girl is reunited with her grandmother bathed in magical light. And if I were a mad fan theorist I might come away thinking Leela has just been killed and she's meeting him in heaven.
I digress.
Where on earth is Leela's family from? I'm sure it's a very deliberate thing, keeping the family's exact nationality off the page. This turns the immigrant story into a more universal one. But because we don't have any idea of where she comes from, it's hard to really empathise with just how different London must be for her. We know she used to be more connected to nature and she came from wider spaces and had more confidence in her own country. In the end, this is a 'moving house, new school' story. Others may disagree, but this does not feel like the particular story of a particular group of people to me. It was this lack of specificity which made it hard for me to empathise with the character.
Oh, and this is the third 2017 MG book in a row I've read in which a girl pines after her absent father while getting annoyed with her unsympathetic mother, until finally the child understands the mother a bit better at the end. If it's a trend I'm sure this is an enduring one, but what is it saying about the roles of parents right now? Are kids not seeing enough of their fathers, so pine after wonderful patriarchal figures in fiction? Is that it? I'm not sure what I think about this. Maybe it's not a trend at all, and just a coincidence of reading choice.
goldenbooksgirl's review
5.0
Ho-Yen`s debut Boy in the Tower is one of my favourite books of all time, and Fly Me Home came very close to being just as good. Fly Me Home enchanted me from the first page with the tale of Leelu, a girl coming to London from abroad and finds it difficult to settle in, until she finds magical objects and meets some rather special friends. The book is a real mix of the magical realism element and real, contemporary issues, and also touches on immigration and the meaning of home. Every single character in this book, good or bad or in between, is superbly written and I loved Leelu and her brother Tiber, who also faces some issues when arriving in England, especially. The prose, imagery and writing style is completely gorgeous, and the ending was perfect (I was in tears). I have a feeling my copy of Fly Me Home may become just as treasured as Boy in the Tower in years to come. If you haven`t discovered Polly Ho-Yen`s lyrical, magical and utterly unique novels yet I can`t recommend them enough.
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