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nuggetstump's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
I connected with the characters so well, although there was so much going on and so many issues all at once - I could still keep up with it!
I loved the storyline and all of the different issues involved and I actually wept through this book hahaha!
Such a great read, that I definitely didn't expect! :)
I connected with the characters so well, although there was so much going on and so many issues all at once - I could still keep up with it!
I loved the storyline and all of the different issues involved and I actually wept through this book hahaha!
Such a great read, that I definitely didn't expect! :)
vierenveertig's review against another edition
3.0
3,5 sterren. Milo is een lief ventje, zorgt erg goed voor zijn oma en heeft oog voor onrecht.
slammy90's review against another edition
2.0
Mah, io mica ho capito se l'autrice mi stesse prendendo in giro o fosse semplicemente molto confusa e abbia buttato nel calderone le 5 idee che aveva in testa (e che fanno a botte tra di loro).
Popsugar reading challenge A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision)
Popsugar reading challenge A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision)
lauredhel's review against another edition
5.0
Milo has a distracted mother whose beautician business is failing, a father who has run away with another woman who he impregnated at family Christmas, a Gran at home who he loves dearly, a pet pig called Hamlet, and a newish diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa. Milo has no peripheral vision at all, seeing the world as if through a small tunnel. And this tunnel is closing: soon he will be blind.
When his mother places Gran in a nursing home, Milo is distraught. There is badly wrong at the home, and no-one will listen to him except for Tripi - an undocument immigrant who works as a cook at the home. What eventuates is a mission to expose the problems at the home, and to assist the residents into safe, secure accommodation.
There are some great things about this book! The drawing of disability was splendid (in my opinion as a non-blind person). Milo is a whole character who just happens to have retinitis pigmentosa. His journey in the book is not primarily about his disability, it’s about his love for his Gran and his pursuit of justice. At the same time, his near-blindness isn’t a non-issue: it causes issues in his everyday life, especially at school, where it is clear accommodations and skills development haven’t been put in place at all. Part of the reason for this is that his mother really isn’t paying attention to Milo at the moment, and Milo is at risk of slipping through the cracks. At one point in the book someone does observe that his ability to concentrate visually on only one thing at a time may sometimes be to his advantage. I thought this was an interesting take in context, and it wasn’t laboured or overdone into a Disability Superpower.
The book also addresses issue of refugee homelessness and insecurity, through the character Tripi, and again not in an Issue-Book way. I thought this was very well done
I did have some gender issues with What Milo Saw. A large number of the women in this book are awful - the homewrecker they call “The Tart”, the almost cartoonishly evil nursing home director, the neglectful mother. This does turn around somewhat as the book goes on. I especially liked the older women of nursing home being awesome toward the end of the book - but I spent the first half of the book growling about this problem. And at least the two male people saving the day aren’t white nondisabled folks.
Overall: I loved What Milo Saw. It's an unusual story, absolutely absorbing, with a memorable protagonist and a varied, idiosyncratic cast of characters.
When his mother places Gran in a nursing home, Milo is distraught. There is badly wrong at the home, and no-one will listen to him except for Tripi - an undocument immigrant who works as a cook at the home. What eventuates is a mission to expose the problems at the home, and to assist the residents into safe, secure accommodation.
There are some great things about this book! The drawing of disability was splendid (in my opinion as a non-blind person). Milo is a whole character who just happens to have retinitis pigmentosa. His journey in the book is not primarily about his disability, it’s about his love for his Gran and his pursuit of justice. At the same time, his near-blindness isn’t a non-issue: it causes issues in his everyday life, especially at school, where it is clear accommodations and skills development haven’t been put in place at all. Part of the reason for this is that his mother really isn’t paying attention to Milo at the moment, and Milo is at risk of slipping through the cracks. At one point in the book someone does observe that his ability to concentrate visually on only one thing at a time may sometimes be to his advantage. I thought this was an interesting take in context, and it wasn’t laboured or overdone into a Disability Superpower.
The book also addresses issue of refugee homelessness and insecurity, through the character Tripi, and again not in an Issue-Book way. I thought this was very well done
I did have some gender issues with What Milo Saw. A large number of the women in this book are awful - the homewrecker they call “The Tart”, the almost cartoonishly evil nursing home director, the neglectful mother. This does turn around somewhat as the book goes on. I especially liked the older women of nursing home being awesome toward the end of the book - but I spent the first half of the book growling about this problem. And at least the two male people saving the day aren’t white nondisabled folks.
Overall: I loved What Milo Saw. It's an unusual story, absolutely absorbing, with a memorable protagonist and a varied, idiosyncratic cast of characters.
signedbysanne's review against another edition
4.0
For my dutch followers, here's a review I wrote for Boekerij since I got a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
I honestly loved this, and I hope to upload a translated review soon!
No spoilers :)
Wat Milo Zag is een bijzonder verhaal over Milo Moon, een negenjarige jongen met een onbekende oogaandoening, en de mensen om hem heen. Door het kleine kijkgaatje in zijn ogen lijkt Milo echter alles te zien wat de volwassenen om hem heen niet willen zien. Namelijk, dat het verpleegtehuis waar zijn oma heen verhuist helemaal niet zo'n perfecte plek is als er word voor gedaan.
Terwijl Milo alles op alles wil zetten om zijn oma te redden van alle misstanden in het verzorgingstehuis, lijkt niemand hem te geloven of te willen helpen. Volwassenen hebben namelijk altijd andere problemen die veel belangrijker zijn dan de zorgen van een klein kind.
Macgregor zet het spotlicht op belangrijke onderwerpen die niet vaak op deze manier in het spotlicht komen; Een onbekende aandoening, het leven als illegale immigrant, mishandeling van ouderen en een echtscheiding. Door wat op het eerste oogopslag lijkt op een simpele verhaallijn weeft zij deze onderwerpen op een prachtige manier zonder dat het verhaal te somber of te zwaar word. Milo staat namelijk altijd als een baken van goede hoop midden in het verhaal samen met zijn huisdier, Hamlet het varkentje.
De personages’ zijn stuk voor stuk geloofwaardig en worden heel mooi aan elkaar verbonden, ze zijn allemaal belangrijk voor het verloop van dit verhaal en ze schijnen allemaal op een andere manier licht op de situatie. Menselijke fouten die worden gemaakt worden allemaal vergeven, want we zien de menselijkheid. We begrijpen waarom mensen soms verkeerde keuzes maken en hoe moeilijk het kan zijn deze keuzes uit te leggen aan anderen.
De korte hoofdstukken geschreven vanuit het oogpunt van deze diverse groep mensen zorgt er ook nog eens voor dat het boek lekker vlot weg leest.
Wat Milo Zag ontroerd, verblijd, verbreed het begrip voor anderen en is ook nog eens een prachtig avontuur over een 9-jarige superheld. Ik zou hem zeker aanraden voor iedereen die op zoek is naar een eerlijke maar verfrissende nieuwe kijk op het hedendaagse leven.
I honestly loved this, and I hope to upload a translated review soon!
No spoilers :)
Wat Milo Zag is een bijzonder verhaal over Milo Moon, een negenjarige jongen met een onbekende oogaandoening, en de mensen om hem heen. Door het kleine kijkgaatje in zijn ogen lijkt Milo echter alles te zien wat de volwassenen om hem heen niet willen zien. Namelijk, dat het verpleegtehuis waar zijn oma heen verhuist helemaal niet zo'n perfecte plek is als er word voor gedaan.
Terwijl Milo alles op alles wil zetten om zijn oma te redden van alle misstanden in het verzorgingstehuis, lijkt niemand hem te geloven of te willen helpen. Volwassenen hebben namelijk altijd andere problemen die veel belangrijker zijn dan de zorgen van een klein kind.
Macgregor zet het spotlicht op belangrijke onderwerpen die niet vaak op deze manier in het spotlicht komen; Een onbekende aandoening, het leven als illegale immigrant, mishandeling van ouderen en een echtscheiding. Door wat op het eerste oogopslag lijkt op een simpele verhaallijn weeft zij deze onderwerpen op een prachtige manier zonder dat het verhaal te somber of te zwaar word. Milo staat namelijk altijd als een baken van goede hoop midden in het verhaal samen met zijn huisdier, Hamlet het varkentje.
De personages’ zijn stuk voor stuk geloofwaardig en worden heel mooi aan elkaar verbonden, ze zijn allemaal belangrijk voor het verloop van dit verhaal en ze schijnen allemaal op een andere manier licht op de situatie. Menselijke fouten die worden gemaakt worden allemaal vergeven, want we zien de menselijkheid. We begrijpen waarom mensen soms verkeerde keuzes maken en hoe moeilijk het kan zijn deze keuzes uit te leggen aan anderen.
De korte hoofdstukken geschreven vanuit het oogpunt van deze diverse groep mensen zorgt er ook nog eens voor dat het boek lekker vlot weg leest.
Wat Milo Zag ontroerd, verblijd, verbreed het begrip voor anderen en is ook nog eens een prachtig avontuur over een 9-jarige superheld. Ik zou hem zeker aanraden voor iedereen die op zoek is naar een eerlijke maar verfrissende nieuwe kijk op het hedendaagse leven.
frickative's review against another edition
5.0
What Milo Saw is such a lovely book. It made me sad and scared and anxious in all the best ways, and kept me reading late into the night. I really cared about and connected with the characters, which is no easy feat considering that the main cast is populated by a nine-year-old boy, a Syrian refugee and a ninety-two-year-old woman.
Our hero here is Milo, a nine-year-old with retinitis pigmentosa. The degenerative eye disease means he can only see the world through a gap the size of a pinhole, but with the help of his beloved gran and the friends he makes along the way, he uses his own unique perspective to make the world a brighter place.
When Milo’s grandmother moves into a care home, he soon realises that something is amiss. The elderly residents are often hungry, cold and mistreated, but try as he might, Milo struggles to unmask the wrongdoing of the awful Nurse Thornhill.
Much as its plot might make Milo sound like a children’s book, it had me absolutely riveted. Macgregor’s writing is sublime – full of feeling and unexpected subtleties. In the very beginning, Milo’s mother felt like something of a stereotype – a self-centred single mother, obsessed with appearance, junk food and holiday shows – but as the novel progresses the relationship between Milo and his mother deepens and blossoms into something recognisably real.
More to the point, I now really want a pet micropig.
I adored this tale of fractured and found families, and would definitely read more by Macgregor in future.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sphere at Little, Brown Book Group for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
[Review originally published on my blog at Line After Line.]
Our hero here is Milo, a nine-year-old with retinitis pigmentosa. The degenerative eye disease means he can only see the world through a gap the size of a pinhole, but with the help of his beloved gran and the friends he makes along the way, he uses his own unique perspective to make the world a brighter place.
When Milo’s grandmother moves into a care home, he soon realises that something is amiss. The elderly residents are often hungry, cold and mistreated, but try as he might, Milo struggles to unmask the wrongdoing of the awful Nurse Thornhill.
Much as its plot might make Milo sound like a children’s book, it had me absolutely riveted. Macgregor’s writing is sublime – full of feeling and unexpected subtleties. In the very beginning, Milo’s mother felt like something of a stereotype – a self-centred single mother, obsessed with appearance, junk food and holiday shows – but as the novel progresses the relationship between Milo and his mother deepens and blossoms into something recognisably real.
More to the point, I now really want a pet micropig.
I adored this tale of fractured and found families, and would definitely read more by Macgregor in future.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sphere at Little, Brown Book Group for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
[Review originally published on my blog at Line After Line.]
a_robin_reads's review against another edition
3.0
---------------------------------------------
Information:
- Owned book
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Review:
What I liked:
The plot
The characters
What I didn't like:
The writing (or translation)
Some things were repeated too often
The pessimism of the book
The sexual things (this is a middle grade after all)
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Review previously placed on my blog:
Review previously placed on my blog:
I'm currently reading What Milo saw by Virginia Macgregor. This is my TBR jar pick for March and also part of middle grade March. I'm loving this so far, it's awesome. I'm not yet feeling the wow-factor, so would give it 4 stars right now, but who knows.
Me loving this book went fast downhill. This was because this book portrays the homes for the elderly in a very bad way. I didn't like that at all. It was really hard to read and I was tempted to put this book down quit a few times. What I also didn't like were the sexual bits thrown in here. This is a middle grade book and I found that very inappropiate. On the other hand was the writing. That was pretty good and the plot itself was also good apart from the issues I mentioned. The representation in this book is also very good. The maincharacter Milo has a condition which blindes him bit by bit. You also follow his grandmother who hasn't spoken since her husband died. You follow Milo's mother who is depressed and had a divorce. And the last character is a refugee from Syria who works at the home for the elderly. I really liked those aspects of this book. So there were proes and cons and therefore I gave it 3 stars.
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emily_galloway's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars! A very sweet and lovely read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending fit the characters and the story well
dozylocal's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
Super sweet with a touch of sadness. The story of Milo and his quest to get his gran back home and expose the truth about the nursing home where she currently finds herself. Along the way he makes a new friend and we learn where Milo's dad is and why his mom spends a lot of her time eating Hobnobs and watching the holiday channel. We also learn that it actually did start unraveling because of what Milo saw...
Super sweet with a touch of sadness. The story of Milo and his quest to get his gran back home and expose the truth about the nursing home where she currently finds herself. Along the way he makes a new friend and we learn where Milo's dad is and why his mom spends a lot of her time eating Hobnobs and watching the holiday channel. We also learn that it actually did start unraveling because of what Milo saw...
bianca89279's review against another edition
4.0
I've received this novel via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly, I'm not quite sure how to rate this novel.
It's got all the ingredients that usually work on/for me: a precocious child, family problems, older people, a refugee, unexpected acts of kindness and it's even written in the third person.
In many ways, it's very similar to one of my favourite books- My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman. But I didn't like it as much as the one mentioned above.
Milo, our protagonist, is 9 years-old and he suffers from a degenerative eye disease, that will eventually render him blind.He's a bit of a loner; he lives with his unhappy, recently separated mum, and his father's 92-year-old grandmother, whom Milo loves dearly, but who's not easy to look after. After a fire incident, Sandy, Milo's mum decides to put Gran into a nursing home.
Things start to unravel from them on, as Milo misses his Gran very much and is determined to bring her back home. His eyesight may be diminishing, but he's very good at noticing things that most people don't. And he notices that things weren't quite as they seemed at Forget Me Not - the nursery home where Gran was living. Will Milo be able to get Gran back home?
I thought the writing was strong and very competent. The narration alternates between Milo, who's the main storyteller and Gran, Milo's mum, Sandy and Tripi, the Syrian refugee cook at Forget Me Not.In my opinion, Sandy and Gran's POVs didn't add too much to the story and weren't terribly insightful. I think, if taken out, the pace of the story would have been a bit better, as at times, it felt a bit sluggish.
A couple of times I did think that Milo sounded way too grown-up. I also had a bit of an issue with the pet pig, as I didn't find it very believable that Milo would be able to get away with hiding it under his coat without anyone noticing at the nursing home. Also, he leaves Hamlet, the pig, with Gran and for a couple of days nobody notices anything? A bit hard to believe. How about its bodily functions? How about food, don't they eat a lot? Hamlet sounded more like a cat. It's probably just me, I'm sure many won't have any issues with the pet pig.
While visiting Gran, Milo meets Tripi, the cook. A friendship of sorts ensues. Other secondary characters come on board, one of them being Al/Clouds, a relative from Scotland, who's an undercover journalist and who's paying rent to live in Gran's room in Milo and his mum's place.
Things get worse before they get better.
This is a good novel.Many will find it heart-warming and emotional. But that's just the thing. Given the plot and the characters, I should have been an emotional wreck, because it really had themes that really tug at my heartstrings, but "What Milo Saw" didn't quite manage to do that.
Nevertheless, it's still a 3.5 - 4 stars novel.
Looking forward to seeing other readers' opinion.
Recommended: If you liked [b: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry|23604559|My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry|Fredrik Backman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427161168s/23604559.jpg|25003015] and if you like feel good stories with precocious kids.
Cover: 5 stars
Honestly, I'm not quite sure how to rate this novel.
It's got all the ingredients that usually work on/for me: a precocious child, family problems, older people, a refugee, unexpected acts of kindness and it's even written in the third person.
In many ways, it's very similar to one of my favourite books- My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman. But I didn't like it as much as the one mentioned above.
Milo, our protagonist, is 9 years-old and he suffers from a degenerative eye disease, that will eventually render him blind.He's a bit of a loner; he lives with his unhappy, recently separated mum, and his father's 92-year-old grandmother, whom Milo loves dearly, but who's not easy to look after. After a fire incident, Sandy, Milo's mum decides to put Gran into a nursing home.
Things start to unravel from them on, as Milo misses his Gran very much and is determined to bring her back home. His eyesight may be diminishing, but he's very good at noticing things that most people don't. And he notices that things weren't quite as they seemed at Forget Me Not - the nursery home where Gran was living. Will Milo be able to get Gran back home?
I thought the writing was strong and very competent. The narration alternates between Milo, who's the main storyteller and Gran, Milo's mum, Sandy and Tripi, the Syrian refugee cook at Forget Me Not.In my opinion, Sandy and Gran's POVs didn't add too much to the story and weren't terribly insightful. I think, if taken out, the pace of the story would have been a bit better, as at times, it felt a bit sluggish.
A couple of times I did think that Milo sounded way too grown-up. I also had a bit of an issue with the pet pig, as I didn't find it very believable that Milo would be able to get away with hiding it under his coat without anyone noticing at the nursing home. Also, he leaves Hamlet, the pig, with Gran and for a couple of days nobody notices anything? A bit hard to believe. How about its bodily functions? How about food, don't they eat a lot? Hamlet sounded more like a cat. It's probably just me, I'm sure many won't have any issues with the pet pig.
While visiting Gran, Milo meets Tripi, the cook. A friendship of sorts ensues. Other secondary characters come on board, one of them being Al/Clouds, a relative from Scotland, who's an undercover journalist and who's paying rent to live in Gran's room in Milo and his mum's place.
Things get worse before they get better.
This is a good novel.Many will find it heart-warming and emotional. But that's just the thing. Given the plot and the characters, I should have been an emotional wreck, because it really had themes that really tug at my heartstrings, but "What Milo Saw" didn't quite manage to do that.
Nevertheless, it's still a 3.5 - 4 stars novel.
Looking forward to seeing other readers' opinion.
Recommended: If you liked [b: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry|23604559|My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry|Fredrik Backman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427161168s/23604559.jpg|25003015] and if you like feel good stories with precocious kids.
Cover: 5 stars