I think I described this to a friend as an 'almost modern day London Stranger Things'... and honestly I think that sums it up quite well!

I really enjoyed the story and all the sci-fi elements were perfect. The mystery was unraveled slowly and gently in a wonderfully gripping way, but I'm torn on the ending.
It's almost too neatly tied up with a beautiful neat bow... or maybe I'm just picky!

I would recommend this for older children and early teens, as it has some sexual relationships (though no explicit scenes) and mentions of drug use (in the sense of people 'being on drugs').

I really didn't like the writing style at first. I'm not a big fan of first person or epistolary styles, however by the end I could appreciate how well it worked in favour of the story.

I don’t cry at books very easily but this was definitely one of those special few.

An emotional and heartbreaking story of 11 year old Jamie and his twin brother Ned.
Ned has Cystic Fibrosis, a heavy topic well discussed and described easily for children to understand.

The book covers some very heavy topics including grief, illness, and suicide, that are beautiful covered by the fantasy of mermaids and 80s pop culture.

A well written and easy to follow read, this book would definitely be for the older primary age range and would do well to be a discussion piece with adults.

A classic.
The animated film of this story was a staple of my childhood. I loved it, and was terrified of it, and I don't know why I've never read the original book until now!
I read a graphic novel variation recently which was also quite good, but I'm so glad that the novel itself lived up to my expectations.

Yet another beautifully written story from Gaiman.

This book would be perfect to use as an example of 'scary story' writing in classes, as well as for a variety of literary techniques, and how to build tension.

It would be great as a tool to help older primary school children who aren't exactly enamoured with reading to get them engaged into a fast paced, relatively short story that has plenty of variations in different media's to help immerse them better. And from this also, for any children to experience how different medias can tell the same story.

Note to self: buy a copy of this book to keep for classroom use!

I will admit that I wasn't fond over every poem in this book. That is not at all why it has five stars and a spot on my 'all time favourites' folder.
But this is the kind of book I think every trainer teacher should explore.

A collection of poems by both author and children, aside a selection of art and sculptures that the poems are inspired by.
Nichols does an amazing job at inspiring anyone to look creatively, and get their imagination working, with poems that really push the idea that all poetry is worthy and respected, and that children are just as able to create art as any author.

I am especially fond of the small section at the back of the book that helps give plenty of ideas and lots of encouragement for using poetry and art in classrooms!

An absolutely beautiful book, filled with emotion, honesty, humour, and love.

You can really tell that the author of this book took the time and care to understand both the subject matter, and the minds of children.

It is a perfect read for a primary class, balancing the darker and more upsetting topics well, with honesty and clarity, but also in words that a 7-11 year old will easily understand and empathise with.

A special mention to the fact that the narrator is not given a name (besides Me) or gender until the very last stages of the book. I have never experienced this before, and I love it. It allowed me to fully engage with the narrator, and I can imagine is a great tool to help children put themselves in the narrators shoes. It also made me consider my own personal views and assumptions on what the narrator was like, what gender I assumed they were from their actions, and how their interactions with others influenced my assumptions.

After reading (with difficulty) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, and being borderline disgusted at how badly the representation of its autistic main character was, but also at the comments I had found from the author in regards to their representation, I wanted to read a book with an autistic main, written by an autistic author, to see the difference it made.

I am so glad I did.
This book has just made its way into my lifetime favourites folder.

I have never read a sci-fi book that I truly related to or had such an emotional experience whilst reading.

I read so quickly. I had to force myself to slow down, and take breaks, in order to appreciate it fully, when all my brain wanted to do was to read and read and read because I needed to hear more.

In this one book, about an apocalypse, space travel, and a future world (although not too distant), I felt more included and understood, and greater connection than I ever had to any modern-set fiction I read.

I probably didn't pick the best time to read it... my anxiety definitely didn't need an end of the world scenario to fantasise over during a global pandemic. But I mean it's kept my heart rate up whilst I've been stuck at home so I can't complain too much.

Thank you, from a disabled trans man, for this book, and its natural, smooth, realistic representation of trans, queer, and neuro-divergent characters, in a setting other than our everyday struggle and 'bravery'.