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Amanda Berriman has successfully taken strong themes that would typically prompt thought and in using the perspective of a four year old, has provoked further difficulty in reading. Little things would set me off crying , and it’s because of the tone of voice and how pure everything was. It’s written in first person from Jesika’s point of view, so there’s lots of rush talking without punctuation and spelling mistakes – I think this is what made the book really, really get to me.
And also the separation of a parent and the sensitive subject of having to keep a secret for a friend Paige who was being abused by her Uncle. I loved the different characters in the book, especially Ade with his magic strawberry. This is an excellent debut novel which I really enjoyed.
Fictionophile
When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. A deeply tragic tale told through the eyes of 4-year-old Jesika. You would appreciate it Carla with all of your experience with young children.
Not a pleasant read, but a valuable one and I applaud Amanda Barrowman for writing such a skilful story with such a delicate hand. It could have been been more graphic, but the more considered approach is true to her narrator and is the better for it. The misspellings and misheard words really reinforce that everything is being seen and heard from a position of complete innocence, from a different perspective born of a much reduced experience. The adults try to shield her from things and in one case deliberately manipulate what little Jesika sees and believes.
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At first, I thought that it would be interesting and a bit of a personal challenge but Jesika just annoyed me. Jesika is the most adorable, insightful, excitable, emotional little girl ever. Her innocence and view on the world made my heart break. But despite this darkness, there is much light in the book. The love that Jesika has for her Mother is wonderful, but also for her little brother Toby. Jesika really is a special little girl who unknowingly brings out the best in people.
I am not sure what Amanda Berriman wanted to tell us here and on what should I focus. The two main storyline, the one about Jesika and her family and then Jesika and her friend Paige felt for me under - developed. They were started off but the execution has felt for me here.
Friend Reviews
When I began the book, I was sceptical about the use of Jesika as the narrator but as the story pursued and I became familar with the protagonist’s voice, my doubting subsided. I became invested in Jesika and the way she viewed the world. There was something so pure about the innocence that was portrayed, and the subjects that Berriman introduced became ever more hard-hitting when written in Jesika’s uncorrupted perceptive voice. I read quite a few of these books which deal with tough subjects, but this one took me on a whole different journey; there was always something to worry about with the protagonists from the get-go. Because of Berriman’s writing, I wanted to jump inside the book and be 97% of the character’s friends, give lots of cuddles and help. The book is narrated by Jesika, which I found at the beginning to be extremely cute and fascinating to have the chance to see the world from a lens of a four-year-old.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and the author Amanda Berriman for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. Berriman not only gives a unique insight into the mind of a child and how they perceive things, she also takes us on a journey that puts a family to the test and leaves you aching to come to their aid. A sophisticated and uncompromising story that will stay with you for weeks to come. It takes a little while to ease into but once you do, you are rewarded with a narrative that is rich in intimacy and immediacy.
The stairs to their ‘home’ are smelly as Jessica knows only too well. This is the story of their lives through little Jessica’s eyes. And I will warn you now Jessica will steal your heart. She knows the ‘Money man’ comes to call and he is not at all nice. Jessica’s world is ever changing and she is growing up fast. As I've just said, 'Home' is told by four-year old girl, Jesika.
Yep, that's right - the entire story is written from a four year olds perspective, including the language that a young girl like Jesika may use. Little Jesika doesn't understand why a man is shouting at her mummy, or why her little brother and mummy are constantly coughing and crying. She also doesn't understand why the floor is wet in their bedroom or why the big box in the kitchen stops working and makes the house cold.
Home will make you open your eyes to a child’s perspective of life and your actions towards them which I am sure we can all learn and relate to especially us parents. I fell in love with little Jesika from the beginning. I found Ryan’s character very shifty from the start and then I started to really dislike him. We all have constant money worries but for Jesika's mum she really is on the bread line not knowing how she is going to pay the rent. Another strong point for me was how the story unfolded.
This will hopefully be the next 'Room' though due to the subject matter may not as easily be seen as a successful film. Please consider reading this, you'll not often find a better child narrator. This might even top Room in my opinion, for its narration - Jack was a precocious 6 year old.
This story really makes you realise how lucky some of us are. We all have constant money worries but for Jesika’s mum she really is on the bread line not knowing how she is going to pay the rent. Their home is hardly liveable with damp causing health issues for herself and Toby. My heart really went out to them all and I wanted to whisk them away from it to somewhere better.
When I finished the book at 2am I felt as though my heart had been shattered by little Jesika and what she went through, but filled with hope that her life was going to get better. That I won’t get to check in on Jesika again and see how she is doing. Home really is a special book and for a debut author it is nothing short of brilliant.
Her mum is struggling to make ends meet and Jesika struggles at times to understand her mum's moods. All she knows is that she loves her mum and doesn't want to live anywhere other than with her. Home is a story about a four-year-old girl named Jesika, who lives in a tiny flat with her mother and baby brother. The family’s living condition is awful, yet the innocence of Jesika portrays it in such a way that makes it seem like the happiest place ever. I first met Jesika, the young narrator of this novel, a few years back - in a short story in the Stories for Homes anthology in aid of Shelter.
There were times when I found Home really difficult to read, as often you know what's coming with a sense of building dread. I felt myself wanting to shout through the book at her to warn her. Saying that, nothing in this book is overly dramatic or ridiculous; it's worryingly realistic. You can imagine only too well it happening - things which I won't give away here - and the idea of a family struggling and falling through the cracks when it comes to housing and support is all-too common in today's society. Told solely through the eyes of Jesika (4.5 years old) we learn all about what home is to her. It is a single mother, a father who lives in Poland, and a toddler brother.
