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A review by katykelly
Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean
4.0
Contemporary issues about sexuality, family and friendship.
This is rather sweet. It's a modern sort of theme, with questions that young people might wonder about or have experience with, and a protagonist (and his friends) who explore the genre for the reader with humour.
Archie's parents aren't living together. Things used to be good, now he's coping with them separated, hating each other, with a new sort of life. But if that wasn't hard enough, now there seems to be a secret they are keeping from him.
The reader is very likely to work out what is going on before Archie finds out. And even when he does, there's still an amount of naivete that will have in-the-know readers interested to see how he's going to try to reconcile his family issues, and those who are just as clueless intrigued as to what is going on and how he can fix things.
I was charmed, I must say, by a lot of this. Being a parent, and having a lot of empathy for Archie's, I liked seeing the 'behind the scenes' of Archie's mum and dad talking, seeing their perspectives of how to give their son some unexpected news.
Archie is part of a threesome that the reader can't help but warm to - the best friends trio of chalk and cheeses - a worrier and the smart one in charge.
Then there's the central premise when everyone heads to London, with the visual scenes of colour, of crowds, of more eccentric characters and, hopefully, a finale where Archie and his family manage to communicate, to remember their common ground and love for each other... will it all come together?
I've been deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. We have here a really sympathetic central character, though at times the worldy-wise reader will wonder what all the fuss is about. There are great friends around him, and a vibrant setting with a lot of quirkiness.
It's a feel-good story, that asks questions of the reader who doesn't already know the answers. It might inspire debate, research and thought. It feels contemporary and relevant, and introduces the themes in accessible and thoughtful ways.
One that parents and teachers might recommend to ages around 9-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
This is rather sweet. It's a modern sort of theme, with questions that young people might wonder about or have experience with, and a protagonist (and his friends) who explore the genre for the reader with humour.
Archie's parents aren't living together. Things used to be good, now he's coping with them separated, hating each other, with a new sort of life. But if that wasn't hard enough, now there seems to be a secret they are keeping from him.
The reader is very likely to work out what is going on before Archie finds out. And even when he does, there's still an amount of naivete that will have in-the-know readers interested to see how he's going to try to reconcile his family issues, and those who are just as clueless intrigued as to what is going on and how he can fix things.
I was charmed, I must say, by a lot of this. Being a parent, and having a lot of empathy for Archie's, I liked seeing the 'behind the scenes' of Archie's mum and dad talking, seeing their perspectives of how to give their son some unexpected news.
Archie is part of a threesome that the reader can't help but warm to - the best friends trio of chalk and cheeses - a worrier and the smart one in charge.
Then there's the central premise when everyone heads to London, with the visual scenes of colour, of crowds, of more eccentric characters and, hopefully, a finale where Archie and his family manage to communicate, to remember their common ground and love for each other... will it all come together?
I've been deliberately vague to avoid spoilers. We have here a really sympathetic central character, though at times the worldy-wise reader will wonder what all the fuss is about. There are great friends around him, and a vibrant setting with a lot of quirkiness.
It's a feel-good story, that asks questions of the reader who doesn't already know the answers. It might inspire debate, research and thought. It feels contemporary and relevant, and introduces the themes in accessible and thoughtful ways.
One that parents and teachers might recommend to ages around 9-13.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.