Overall, this book has some hope and bright moments, but the overwhelming uncomfortable feeling dominated me throughout. The magic hidden inside natural objects gives her something to hold onto and creates a sense of wonder which contrasts with the grey, bleakness of their new home. A story of hope and learning about resilience, about how hard it is to start afresh when you move to a new place, and how the need to belong can sometimes drive people to do things they might not otherwise do.

The problems they face settling into a new country is not dissimilar to refugee stories like The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle. Fly Me Home is an incredibly moving portrait of one family’s struggle to adjust to life in a new country. You feel those difficult scenes so clearly with her that I'm sure that anyone reading them would really build up their empathy for anyone else that they met or saw who was going through a similar thing or would identify with it if they had gone through it themselves. Working in publishing obviously helped me to understand the process and where publishers are coming from.Alongside reading, children will begin to explain their impressions of characters based on their actions and the ways the author has used language to portray certain plot and character developments. There were moments when I was very invested in the storyline but other times when I didn't feel like there was much to it. Full of friendship, family and magic, this stunning novel by Polly Ho-Yen, author of Boy in the Tower and Where Monsters Lie, is a must-read for 9-12 readers. But Leelu is not alone; someone is leaving her gifts outside her house – wonders which give her curious magical powers. Year 6 have really got their teeth stuck in as they explore Leelu’s journey on meeting new friends and the fears faced with starting a new school away from her home.

So many of the children that I used to teach when I taught in a primary school sneak into my writing. Change country or region: -Select- Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Islands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Republic Gambia Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Croatia Republic of the Congo Reunion Romania Saint Helena Saint Kitts-Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Virgin Islands (U. Being back into the world of a primary school first of all really took me back to my own school experience. Obviously he ultimately turned out to be fine but I would have preferred if maybe her mum had met him first and he had become established as a trusted adult before Leelu went into his house. The context and background of Polly's stories is usually pretty tough but they are so magical and gentle that even this sensitive soul can enjoy them.

In this story, Leelu is afraid - she is new to the country, new to her school, and as such struggles to find her voice.

He reminded me a little bit of Skellig - not in his mannerisms, but more because of the impact he has. Although he’d received a partial refund of his travel insurance premiums, his insurer wouldn’t refund the extra "add-on" cover he’d bought because he'd been going on a cruise. I don’t think cities are fundamentally lonely places but I am interested about our relationship with place, space and nature and thinking about how another person in my city might live. Contemporary But with an air of magic or mystery that softened Leelus experiences for the younger reader.Having said that, it is incredibly lovely when people like your books (I can never quite believe it!