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A review by litdoes
What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor
4.0
Milo Moon is 9 and suffers from a rare condition called retinitis pigmentosa, which means that his eye is like a pinhole with almost no peripheral vision, and which would only worsen until he eventually goes blind. His dad has run away with his secretary to Abu Dhabi and abandoned him, his mom Sandy, and Gran (who's his great grandmother), leaving behind a teacup pig, Hamlet, as a pet to keep Milo company. That's quite a lot for a little boy to take, but Milo is a special boy with a close affinity with 92-year-old Gran, whom he takes it upon himself to take care of.
When Gran is sent to an old folks' home, Milo suffers another blow. What ensues is a touching yet funny tale of a boy who is brave enough to fight for those he loves and make things better for unexpected friends like the old ladies at the home with a misnomer of a name, Forget Me Not, as well as Tripi, the Syrian cook at the home.
Narratives with children as focalisers are tricky, as there is always a danger of stereotyping or infantilising them, or making them sound too profound and worldly wise and therefore making them unrealistic characters. Virginia Macgregor had measured out the right mix in creating the character of Milo Moon, making him both a realistic and an easy character to like. For example, when he buckles Gran down for the move to the home, he tries to make the best of a bad situation, rationalising as he looked at the grey sky, pavements and trees in turn, as he cannot focus on them all at once: "People who saw everything at once must feel drowned by the world. All Milo had to do was to move his head and focus on something else and pretend the bad bits weren't there."
Definitely worth a read.
When Gran is sent to an old folks' home, Milo suffers another blow. What ensues is a touching yet funny tale of a boy who is brave enough to fight for those he loves and make things better for unexpected friends like the old ladies at the home with a misnomer of a name, Forget Me Not, as well as Tripi, the Syrian cook at the home.
Narratives with children as focalisers are tricky, as there is always a danger of stereotyping or infantilising them, or making them sound too profound and worldly wise and therefore making them unrealistic characters. Virginia Macgregor had measured out the right mix in creating the character of Milo Moon, making him both a realistic and an easy character to like. For example, when he buckles Gran down for the move to the home, he tries to make the best of a bad situation, rationalising as he looked at the grey sky, pavements and trees in turn, as he cannot focus on them all at once: "People who saw everything at once must feel drowned by the world. All Milo had to do was to move his head and focus on something else and pretend the bad bits weren't there."
Definitely worth a read.