Mark Lowery - Charlie and Me: 421 Miles From Home - Short Extract

Here we have a short extract from the marvellous novel Charlie and Me:421 Miles From Home. This is a funny and sad story, which is full of kindness and loss. I feel this was a book that may have got slightly lost and swept under the carpet - it has appeared to have missed people's attention. Yet, it is a brilliant book and one that you should definitely track down. Read the synopsis and short extract to hopefully whet your appetite. It's out now in all good bookshops. 

Thirteen-year-old Martin and his younger brother Charlie are on a very special journey. They're going to be travelling 421 miles all the way from Preston to the very tip of Cornwall. They're hoping to catch a glimpse of the dolphin that regularly visits the harbour there. But is that the only reason they are going? 

It's a journey that's full of challenges and surprises. Martin adores his brother Charlie but he's not like ordinary kids. He's one in a million. He was born far too early, and ought to have died. And cheeky, irrepressible, utterly unique Charlie is always keeping Martin on his toes - especially on this crazy trip they are now on. Martin is doing his best to be a good big brother, but it's hard when there's something so huge coming once they get to Cornwall ...

I always try to help Charlie with his homework. He struggles at school because he can’t focus on things and he’s a bit hyperactive. Mum says this is common with kids who were born early. She’s always having rows with the teachers about it, because he can’t be expected to learn like everyone else, can he? And if they let him use his imagination instead of trying to stuff his poor little head full of useless information, then maybe he’d have a chance in life. 

She’s very sensitive when it comes to Charlie. And she’s sort of right – people think he’s thick, but in some ways he’s mega-smart. His brain’s just wired up differently that’s all. 

Even so, the teachers have got a point. When he was in Year Three, he brought a letter home saying: ‘Charlie did not complete today’s spelling test because he was pretending to be a tortoise.’ Dad thought this was hilarious and stuck it on the fridge. 

‘Times tables? On a Saturday?’ says Charlie, flinging the stick down. The baggy sleeves of his jumper swing round afterwards. ‘Child cruelty! I’m calling the RSPCA.’ 

‘What?’ I say, ‘The animal charity?’ 

‘Yeah,’ replies Charlie, as though this is what he meant all along.

 ‘I’ll tell ’em you keep a . . . a pig in a shoe box and . . . you throw darts at it and you make it smoke cigarettes. 

They’ll lock you up and then I’ll be safe.’ 

I snigger. ‘Come on. Which times table are you doing at the moment?’ 

‘The one times table,’ he says immediately. ‘One one is one. Two ones are t—’ 

‘Rubbish!’ I interrupt, giving him a friendly jab in the arm. ‘Nobody learns the ones. Let’s do the eights. One eight is eight. Two eights are . . . ?’ 
Charlie looks off into the distance and scratches his head. ‘Er . . . fourteen . . . ?’ 

‘Try again.’ 

‘Twelve . . . no, seventeen.’ 

‘It can’t be seventeen,’ I sigh. I try to be patient with him, but I’m pretty good at maths and working with Charlie can get seriously frustrating.

 ‘We’ve been through this. Seventeen’s not in any tables. It’s a prime number.’ 
This was a mistake. Straight away he’s talking about something else. 

‘Prime number? 

Is that like the Prime Minister?’ he says, and before I can answer he’s off: ‘If I was Prime Minister, I’d make everyone wear top hats.’ 

We reach a red light and I push the button. ‘What? Why?’ I say, my brain struggling to catch up. 

‘I like ’em. Plus then I’d be taller than everyone.’ 

‘But they’d all be wearing top hats too.’ 

He thinks for a second. ‘Yeah. But only the Prime Minister would be allowed to wear high heels.’

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Amber Lee Dodd - We Are Giants - Author Q&A Interview

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books is really pleased to be sharing with you the following Q&A with Amber Lee Dodd. Her latest book, We Are Giants, was published on the 7th April 2016 by Quercus Children's Books. The book deals with topics that will be familiar to a lot of 9-12 year olds. It is a refreshing and a heartwarming story, and very sensitively written.  I hope that this interview piques your interest and encourages you to purchase a copy and read it. Thank you Amber. 

Tell us a little bit about We Are Giants? 
It’s about love, family and being proud of who you are. 
It’s the story of Sydney, her sister Jade and her mother Amy who has dwarfism. When the family are forced to leave home and move to a new city, Sydney worries she will forget her Dad (who died a few years before) without the memories of home around her. To add to that, her new home is barely a home, it’s more of a shoe box and her new school is clearly run by mad teachers. With everything changing around her Sydney is determined to keep some things the same. Namely she wants to stay little, just like her Mum. 

Who would love reading We Are Giants, and why? 
Anyone who’s ever wanted to be different.

We all need a hero! Tell us about your protagonist(s)? Was there a real-life inspiration behind him or her? 
Sydney is shy and thoughtful and has a huge imagination. But she also has a fierce side she call ‘The Wild Thing’. Jade is brave and bold and is never more than five minutes away from throwing a wobbly. And Amy is creative and stubborn and force to be reckoned with. 

I think all the characters where inspired by the children and teens I worked with, or people I knew. 
In the book Sydney and Jade have to deal with bullies. 

How much research did you do into this subject? 
I used to tell people I hardly did any research, but that’s not true! I researched everything; it just never felt like work because all the things I found out where so interesting. Most of the research went into Amy’s dwarfism and Sydney’s fairytales. Things like place, school and the bullies are all drawn from my own childhood. 

What tips can you share in writing a believable world/background? 
I think in creating a world you have to give a voice to it as much as you would a character. Even in the craziest fantasy you have to ground your story in a place that feels real. 

For me writing about Portsmouth, where We are Giants is set, was easy as I grew up here. It’s largely a working class city with a strong, proud identity and was the perfect setting for a family struggling in post recession Britain. 
Do you have any strange writing habits? 
I write in bed because I don’t have a desk I can use. I’m also a very messy writer. I once walked out the house with several sticky notes stuck to the back of my leg! 

What do you think makes a good story? 
Oh gosh, this is such a hard one. I think great stories have their own voice. They couldn’t have been written by anyone else but that person. 

What genre of books do you like to read? do you limit yourself to only the genre that you write yourself? 
I read everything! From plays to memoir, to short stories and literary fiction. My favourite books are Olive Kittredge by Elizabeth Strout, Matilda by Roald Dahl, The play The Memory of Water by Shelia Stevenson and the short story collection How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer. I come back to these books again and again. 
At the moment I have a tbr pile that includes the biographies of some lady adventures, a couple of crime novels (I love an Agatha Christie) and some smashing Middle grade books. 
If you were to look for me in a bookshop you would find me by the picture books. It is pretty much impossible to be unhappy flicking through a good picture book. 


As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? 
The first thing I desperately want to do was be a surgeon. I like to think it was because I wanted to help people, but I think it might have been more to do with the fact that I loved blood and guts. But sadly I wasn’t very good at science or maths. However, I was very good at telling stories. So that’s what I decided to do instead. 


Is there anything else that you would like to tell us, like new writing projects? 
I’m working on some more short stories. You should hopefully get to listen to my story The Love Songs of Foxes on BBC radio 4 again soon. And I’m also working on a new children’s book, staring lady adventurers, Scottish islands and a dyslexic hero with a very unusual gift. But Shhh, don’t tell anyone.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Ali Benjamin - The Thing About Jellyfish - Book Review

It's peculiar how no-words can be better than words. How silence can say more than noise, or a person's absence can occupy even more space than their presence did. 

Suzy is 12 when her best friend, Franny, drowns one summer at the beach. It takes two days for the news to reach Suzy, and it's not something that she can accept: Franny has always been a strong swimmer, from the day they met in swim class when they were just 5. How can someone all of a sudden, just no longer be there?

Suzy realizes that they must have got it wrong: Franny didn't just drown - she was stung by a poisonous jellyfish. This makes a lot more sense to Suzy's logical mind than a random drowning - cause: a jellyfish sting; effect: death. 

Suzy's journey to acceptance is quiet - she resolves to either say something important, or say nothing at all. But it's also bursting with bittersweet humour, heart-breaking honesty, big ideas and small details.

Suzy is haunted by the loss of her former best friend due to a final argument that passed between them before she died. As a result, she retreats into the silent world of her own imagination. This is a thought provoking and striking read which will make you think from the very first footprints that you take into this brilliant and creative plot. The narrative strikes a natural voice deep inside your head and heart; you will easily be drawn into the mindset of a child. The main character makes a number of incredibly painful and socially awkward choices which leaves the reader with much to talk and think about. 

Suzy embarks on a quirky plan to prove the truth about Franny's death. There might be another and more logical solution to her best friend's death, rather than it being a random drowning. The deep fascination for jellyfish in this book sparkles and shines its way to the heart of the book. This part of the book is written exceptionally well. Science and logic is used factually, in a detective sort of way, to prove a theory which is really well researched and works very well, in my opinion. It makes this book a magical experience for me and stands out to everyone who reads it. The thought process and the character's journey is heartbreaking and truly gripping to read. 

I read this book in super quick time as it's a wonderful book for 8+ age. It is one that would be amazingly good to read out loud in a classroom or book group, so that everyone can talk about it and discuss the topics within the book. It's sensitively told through a strong and believable main character. This debut story focuses on acceptance, despair, grief and wonder. It is a fantastic read for anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one, especially from the perspective of a child. It is not depressing, but shines with a deep undercurrent of hopefulness and has some uplifting moments of humour. 

This book pulsates like a jellyfish; the beating transparent heart will resonate deep into your fantasy brain and stay with you for a very long time. It's very sad through its brutal and honest look at friendship and family. It is an extraordinary view of the world through the eyes of Suzy, as she realises that life can be scary, but if you look hard enough there's also beauty there too.

This is another brilliant read and is Mr Ripley's recommended read for March 2016. It is published by Macmillan Children's books and is available now. Thank you to Macmillan for sending this to me to review...

How can someone all of sudden, just no longer be there?