Jasmine is 12, a black south Londoner who cares for the same things as most girls her age: her best friends Rachel and and Michaela; shopping; clothes and boys. She is still sad for her lost baby brother who died of cot death at 5 months but generally life is okay, true one of the boys at school gets excluded for threatening another with a screwdriver, but it's a source of gossip not worry.
But Jasmine's parents do worry, and after one of the girls at Jasmine's school is groomed over the internet by and runs off with a 37 year old man they decide to emigrate back to Jasmine's dad's home island of Barbados. Jasmine is devastated by the prospect her parent's complete overriding of her feelings. She acts recklessly, endangering herself. Things don't get any better after the move to her new Carribean paradise home, ostracised at school and lonely she makes only two friends, her grandmother and the son of a fisherman. But then things begin to get better.
Benjamin's narrative is at times a little clunky but this is a good gentle story about growing up and coming to terms taking responsibility for your own actions and happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment