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A review by loiereads
Dustbin Baby by Jacqueline Wilson
4.0
Since I recently re-read My Sister Jodie to see if it effected me the same as when I first read it as a child, I thought I would do it again, but this time, I read Dustbin Baby. This is another of Jacqueline Wilson’s books that I remember having quite a deep story.
Alongside re-reading the book, I wanted to watch the ITV film adaptation.
Dustbin Baby is a story about 14 year old April who was abandoned in a dustbin just after she was born. When she’s discovered by a pizza restaurant worker, she gets 5 seconds of fame in the newspaper as the “Dustbin Baby.” From there on out, April bounces from foster home to foster home, never quite settling down and making friends. Throughout the book, we follow April on her 14th birthday as she skips school on a quest to find out more about herself.
The film does an excellent job of portraying this as well. All the actors do a very well in filling out their characters and drawing you into the story, keeping you invested. A lot of film adaptations miss out a lot of important details to save screen time, but Dustbin Baby feels very close to the book. There are a few slight changes between the book and the film, but nothing that takes away from the story and its meaning.
Overall, the book is a captivating story of a young girl who has had a difficult childhood growing up, with the theme of self discovery, and also how your family isn’t always the people you are related to by blood. Even when reading as an adult, I was still strongly emotionally effected by this book.
There's an extended version of this review on my blog:
https://loiereads.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/dustbin-baby-a-review-film-adaptation-comparison/
Dustbin Baby is a story about 14 year old April who was abandoned in a dustbin just after she was born. When she’s discovered by a pizza restaurant worker, she gets 5 seconds of fame in the newspaper as the “Dustbin Baby.” From there on out, April bounces from foster home to foster home, never quite settling down and making friends. Throughout the book, we follow April on her 14th birthday as she skips school on a quest to find out more about herself.
The film does an excellent job of portraying this as well. All the actors do a very well in filling out their characters and drawing you into the story, keeping you invested. A lot of film adaptations miss out a lot of important details to save screen time, but Dustbin Baby feels very close to the book. There are a few slight changes between the book and the film, but nothing that takes away from the story and its meaning.
Overall, the book is a captivating story of a young girl who has had a difficult childhood growing up, with the theme of self discovery, and also how your family isn’t always the people you are related to by blood. Even when reading as an adult, I was still strongly emotionally effected by this book.
There's an extended version of this review on my blog:
https://loiereads.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/dustbin-baby-a-review-film-adaptation-comparison/