Reviews

October, October by Angela Harding, Katya Balen

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aeblack's review against another edition

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4.0

Took me a while to get into it but by the end I was sobbing!

eggilybread's review against another edition

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3.0

This was really fun to read aloud to my form; it was great for character voice through its overuse of polysyndeton. It actually felt a little like a verse novel at times.

_askthebookbug's review against another edition

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4.0

There’s a girl who grows up in the wild amidst tangled trees, freezing lakes and clear skies. And when October comes, she dives into the freezing water with her father and eats roasted potatoes from the edge of sticks. October is her favourite month of the year and also because that’s her name. October, October is the story of a eleven year old girl who suddenly finds herself under the glaring lights of London, far away from the comforts of her woods. She’s terrified, furious and very very lost.

Katya brings to us a story of a young girl who knows nothing about the outside world. She adores her father and then later, her pet owl. She climbs trees, plants them and cuts them to let them grow gloriously and she wants nothing else. But when tragedy visits, she is thrusted into the harsh world of the city where she knows no one. This little girl is weighed down by many emotions when she is forced to live with a woman who calls herself her mother. As October navigates through her life in a completely strange world, she finds things that she hates and later the ones that she comes to like.

This tale made me feel so whole, a barrage of warmth and affection swirling in my heart towards all the characters. Written for middle graders, this book is every bit thoughtful and considerate. I read this in only two sittings, and at the end of it, this book felt like a warm embrace.