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"Now is the time between birth and slaughter. Another Summer has arrived.”  Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth is one of those gut-wrenching, relatable coming-of-age stories that is impossible to put down. It is set in 1990s rural Ireland and explores the secret romance between two teenage girls, Lucy and Susannah, against the backdrop of conservative norms and religious expectations. Howarth fully immerses the reader into Lucy’s world: her small village in Ireland, and the societal expectations that eventually shape her future and identity. Throughout the novel, Lucy faces an internal conflict as she struggles to live between two worlds: the comfort of what she has always known and her newfound, passionate first love.     The most notable aspect of the novel for me is Howarth’s poetic and fluid writing style. This prose effortlessly transports the reader through the events of the book (which is set over multiple years), whilst also highlighting the teenage angst and over-dramatic nature of the typical teenage girl. The love letters written by Lucy and Susannah also provide more depth, allowing for a deeper exploration of their relationship and personal feelings. The exploration of queer identity is portrayed with nuance and emotional truth, avoiding cliché and stereotypes.    The burden of a mother’s love is a theme felt throughout the book. Lucy and Susannah grew up in the same town and environment; however, their attitudes towards the future of their romance are very different. This highlights the role that their mothers played in their teenage development and identity. Lucy’s mother embodies the religious and moral expectations of rural 1990s Ireland, and as Lucy begins to feel different, her craving to belong intensifies, leading to her greatest desire becoming her mother’s acceptance, which in turn means acceptance from her community. Susannah’s mother is emotionally distant and self-absorbed, which leads Susannah to crave her attention rather than her acceptance. It is easy to criticise the decisions that Lucy makes, but it truly emphasises that she believes her mother’s love is conditional, and yet it is what she craves the most. This concept exists side by side with the theme of belonging throughout the novel. One of the most underrated aspects of the novel is Howarth’s exploration of female friendships and how these impact your identity and development. Lucy has an obsessive need to be liked and wanted by her friends, even those whom she admits to not particularly enjoying, because she craves inclusion and acceptance.     Ultimately, Sunburn is a beautiful yet haunting novel about growing up, falling in love, and learning that sometimes love cannot conquer everything. It leaves you with the aching truth that the people we love most are often the ones we fear disappointing the most. Although love cannot overcome all obstacles, it can transform us in many ways. This is one of my favourite books I have read all year, and a perfect read for the beginning of summer. I am very excited for what Chloe Michelle Howarth has in store for us next.

Happy New Year!  The first book club meeting of 2025 was Wednesday, and what a way to begin the year!  The two picks for the month were: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. The Bear and the Nightingale , based on Russian folklore, is book 1 of the Winternight Trilogy. Perfect for the winter months, this book is an enchanting read, full of atmospheric prose and mystical imagery. Arden explores the complexities of family, identity and the power of tradition through the magical narrative. Overall, this book proved to be a delightful combination of fantasy and historical fiction.  Noughts and Crosses , book 1 in the Noughts and Crosses series, also received high praise. This dystopian novel has repeatedly proven itself to be a stable in the YA dystopian genre. The racial commentary remains as prominent, relevant and compelling as ever, exploring the alternative experiences through dual POVs. The various character dynamics and relationships Malorie Blackman formulated not only elevate the driving force of the plot, but allow for the bonding between character and reader, making those pivotal plot points ever more impactful.  After our discussions on this month’s picks, we decided to have some fun with what next month’s book would be. In order to choose our books, we named 6 books we wanted to read, spun a wheel and let the wheel decide. We will therefore be reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn for next month’s book club on Wednesday 5th February. We hope to see some of you next month, Courtney.

With the festive season quickly approaching, what better way to celebrate than with a YA book club meeting in a cosy bookshop! This month’s meeting had us discussing two vastly different novels that although the stark contrast in approach, ultimately delivered a similar message. The books in question were: Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar, a thriller released this year (2024) by a debut author and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs,, a debut at the time of its release.  Overall, Silent Sister received great praise, proving itself to be an outstanding addition to the YA thriller genre, with its complex characters and multi layered plot, everyone felt immediately hooked. The pacing was also commented on, being praised for the gentle changes in speed to align with the text at that particular moment in the plot. This book is most certainly perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus but also those who are looking for a unique psychological YA thriller. Ransom Riggs’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children also proved itself to be a hit. This magical fantasy installs elements of the gothic genre to achieve a thrilling adventure, that although being only one in a series, quite comfortably sits as a standalone if desired. The addition of photographs also felt poignant in its exploration of the treatment of children considered different by society. Perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and for those who enjoyed Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. We are very much looking forward to our next meeting in the new year (Wednesday 8th January) where we will be discussing Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.  From everyone at Fourbears Books, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Fourbears Books YA Book Club  Reading is a privilege, and more so than ever, the desire to encourage the younger generation to explore the literary world is ever more prevalent. However, to believe that teenagers are not engaging with literacy would be a mistake, for on Wednesday, we held our first YA book club, in which the true passion for the written word was expressed with such eloquence.  For our first meeting, we discussed all things books, from our favourite books of the year to books that we have personally disliked. The open discussion and relaxed nature of the conversation allowed for true expression and exploration into our understanding of certain texts.  The first meeting demonstrates a fantastic promise for future book club meetings, particularly as our next one, happening on Wednesday 4th December will be centred around The Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, two texts that although differ heavily both provide important social commentary for further exploration. The Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar, released in August on 2024, is a YA thriller akin to the likes of Holly Jackson and Kathleen McManus. When two sisters Grace and Maddy go missing but only Grace is found but is suffering from memory loss, can Grace help find out what happened to Maddy. This gripping thriller promises to have you guessing until the last page. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, released in 2011 was Riggs debut novel. Told through a combination of narrative and vernacular and found photographs from the personal archives of collectors that Riggs lists in the novel, this story takes you deep into a fantasy world. Filled with humour, horror and mystery this book demands your imagination and attention.  For those who were unable to attend our first meeting or unaware of our new book group, feel free to come along to any future sessions (all the information as well as a link to RSVP will be available on our website’s ‘What’s On’ section).

After all the months of planning and preparation the weekend of the inaugural Fourbears Fest finally arrived - and then, of course, it seemed to be over in a flash. As with many new ventures, things didn’t turn out quite as planned but we hope that everyone who attended one or more of the events on the children’s programme had a great time! Here’s a round up of the weekend with some suggestions for follow-up reading. Starting with a lively interactive session on Saturday morning, children and adults alike had a go at creating characters for their own awesome comics under the guidance of cartoonist and writer Neill Cameron with the help of local illustrator Lewis James. It was great to see Neill having as much fun as his audience - sharing ideas and enthusiasm for books. Some children had brought examples of their own artwork to show Neill, while others brought copies of The Phoenix comic for him to sign. The Phoenix is a weekly magazine designed to inspire 7-14s to get reading, writing and drawing. You can try out the magazine by buying 6 issues for £1 via their website; and although tickets for this year’s Phoenix Fest live show in Oxford on Saturday 20th July have sold out, digital tickets are still available https://thephoenixcomic.co.uk/phoenix-fest/ In addition to Neill Cameron’s Mega Robo Bros series, look out for other popular graphic novel series for young readers including Bunny vs Monkey, Dogman and Investigators. Neill was followed by local best-selling author of animal stories Holly Webb. She talked about how she draws inspiration from her own pets (she has three cats) as well as from some real-life animal stories - including the one about a lost dog guided to safety by a sausage dangled from a drone! The majority of her 150 plus books are aimed at 5-8s making them ideal for newly independent readers. Series like the Animal Stories, illustrated by Sophy Williams, appeal to many youngsters because of their subject matter, but they also provide young fans with a means of building their reading stamina. Holly has recently published the first two books in a new series for more experienced readers of 9+: The Story of Greenriver and The Swan’s Warning. Our local poet A F Harrold began his session by introducing his poetry books and discussing the merits of having a carrot as a pet - as always demonstrating the joy of playing with words and ideas. Ashley is also a novelist. If you’re looking for funny, try the hilarious Fizzlebert Stump series which begins with The Boy Who Ran Away From the Circus (and Joined the Library) illustrated by Sarah Horne. He has also written four haunting fantasies for 8-12s in which illustration plays a powerful part. During his talk he asked one of the parents in the audience to rate the scariness of Emily Gravett’s images for The Imaginary - and yes, they are scary! The book has recently inspired a full-length animated film created by Japan’s Studio Ponoc, soon to be released on Netflix. Ashley is hoping for a special showing at The Biscuit Factory sometime in the future. You can see a trailer and find out more here http://www.afharroldkids.com/the-imaginary At the end of the first day, picture book writer Fiona Barker delivered a perfectly pitched presentation for her young audience. Starting with a brief introduction to her books, Fiona read her latest title A Swift Return, followed by a quiz about swifts and a drawing workshop, ending with a swift-themed sing-a-long. The book is her third title created in partnership with illustrator Howard Gray. Both Setsuko and the Song of the Sea and A Swift Return are gorgeous environmental stories set in different parts of the world with parallel texts in the language of the place where they’re set: Japanese in the case of Setsuko and Arabic in the case of A Swift Return which is set in Damascus. Both invite us to think about the effects we are having on our environment and what we can do as individuals to help. After enjoying the fantastic facilities at Caversham Baptist Church on Saturday, we transferred to the familiar bookish surrounds of Fourbears Book Shop for the children’s events on Sunday. Reading-born James Carter was accompanied by two musical friends - Steve the Melodica and Derek the Ukelele - and was occasionally interrupted by Bob the Banana Phone. It was quite a lively (and somewhat silly) affair involving poetry, riddles and collaborative writing, with participation (including dancing) encouraged throughout. James has published a wide range of poetry books, many of which are non-fiction, including individual titles like All the Things a River Can Be and Once Upon a Big idea, plus anthologies like Weird, Wild and Wonderful and Out There in the Wild: Poems on Nature with Nicola Davies and Dom Conlon. For the final session middle-grade author Jo Clarke led a workshop on How to Write Your Own Heist Story. She fired up the aspiring young authors’ creativity as they enthusiastically followed her step-by-step guide to planning a story. We’d love to know if anyone went on to complete their story based on the notes they took. Jo’s inspired Travelling School Mysteries series has allowed her to transport her own crime-solving characters to different places including Paris, Scotland and New York. With the current popularity of mystery stories, we’re now looking forward to Jo’s next book Libby and the Egyptian Escapade which is due for publication in January 2025. All of the books mentioned above plus others by the authors who appeared at the Festival are available to purchase from Fourbears Books, or ask staff to order them if they are not in stock. It was an absolute joy to give young readers the opportunity to hear and meet their favourite authors, and to meet some new ones too. We loved overhearing the buzz about books over the weekend and we’re already looking forward to the possibilities of Fourbears Fest 25! In the meantime, keep an eye on the website for information about more book events for children. Reading Children’s Book Group

Between Friday 17th- Sunday 19th May ten brilliant children’s authors will be visiting two venues in Caversham to talk about their latest books. Children will be able to watch a cartoonist create a comic character, listen to poets shouting and singing their poetry to life, discover a whole load of fascinating facts about science and invention, and step into the magical and mysterious worlds of some fantastic stories. These experiences are guaranteed to entertain and inspire young readers of 5-12 but will also be of interest to any adults (teachers, parents, librarians etc.) with children they want to encourage to read and write. Reading Children’s Book Group is thrilled to be partnering with Fourbears Books to organise the children’s programme for this, the inaugural Fourbears Fest. As a local branch of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG), one of the main aims of the group is to bring children and books together. Thanks to the generous support of Alex Forbes, for the last three years we have been able to offer regular book group meetings for 5-8s and 9-11s based in the book shop. These are free events, open to all and bookable via the bookshop website. Family members can also participate in testing books for the FCBG Children’s Book Award throughout the year and receive monthly newsletters which include local book-based information and offers from children’s publishers. Occasionally we invite one of our local authors to read from and talk about a new book at one of the regular sessions. The impact of meeting and hearing a real-life author should never be underestimated - as well as always being fun and often informative, it can also inspire children to get reading and writing themselves. Fourbears Fest will not only be a celebration of the work of many of our wonderful local authors but it will also be an introduction to some exciting new writers to our local community of children and adults alike. And there is something for everyone to choose from. The first event taking place in the shop on the afternoon of Friday 17th May featuring professional storyteller Margaret Bateson-Hill is ideal for the whole family. Margaret has worked with us in Reading many times before - helping us to celebrate the group’s tenth anniversary (almost ten years ago now!), storytelling in local libraries and visiting schools. Her stories often draw from different cultures, featuring their language, calligraphy and crafts. The exciting experience of hearing a story well-told is definitely not to be missed! Our second day of events is taking place in Caversham Baptist Church to ensure that we have plenty of seats available - but some sessions are already selling fast so don’t delay in buying your tickets! Due to the growing popularity of comics and graphic novels, the interest in Neill Cameron’s workshop on Saturday comes as no surprise. Based in Oxford, he runs a monthly Comic Club at the Story Museum and regularly contributes to The Phoenix comic, while writing and illustrating his own graphic novels. Neill’s session will get young readers thinking about a completely different way of telling stories and is bound to inspire them to get creative themselves. We’re also looking forward to welcoming three incredibly popular local authors on Saturday - animal story writer Holly Webb, poet & author A F Harrold and picture book creator Fiona Barker - all of whom have spoken or performed at events in Reading before. Fourbears Fest provides a great opportunity for young fans to catch up with their favourites and meet new authors, and to buy new books and have them signed. Enjoying meeting authors and owning books is all part of becoming an established reader and there will be a pop-up shop in the church designed to feed our young audience’s appetite for books. The final speaker on Saturday is E L Norry who will be hot-footing to Reading from another event earlier the same day. We were lucky enough to hear Emma talking about the first book in the Fablehouse series at the FCBG conference in 2023. Inspired by her own childhood experiences in care, this is an atmospheric historical fantasy linked to the Arthurian legends. Join us to find out about the recently-published Heart of Fire, which continues the children’s quest to find their power within. On Sunday, all of the events will be taking place in Fourbears Book Shop, offering a mixed bag of fantastic bookish experiences, starting with poetry, music & mayhem for younger children from James Carter. This will be followed by a session about innovators in science and technology from nonfiction author Frances Durkin. We know that many young readers are fascinated by facts & read information books for pleasure. Frances also writes graphic novels based in different periods of ancient history. The day will finish with an afternoon of mystery. This is such a popular genre with young readers at the moment. There is a murder mystery waiting to be solved in Michelle Harrison’s latest magical story Twice Upon a Time which features twin sisters with time-bending powers. And for the grand finale, Jo Clarke, the author of the entertaining Travelling School Mysteries, will be leading her popular writers’ workshop for young would-be authors. Which sessions will you be bringing your children to? We are looking forward to seeing you there! To book tickets visit https://www.fourbearsbooks.co.uk/fourbears-fest You can follow Reading Children’s Book Group on Facebook and Twitter @GRRChris or contact us on grr.reading@ntlworld if you would like further information about the group.

A guest post by Adrian Raffill from Caversham Writers Whenever we read a news headline there’s a part of our mind that simply asks ‘Yes, but how does this affect me?’ Recently a group of Artificial Intelligence experts expressed their concern about the risk of AI by issuing the following statement: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Yes, but how does this affect me? It might be a while before our very existence is threatened by AI and better minds than mine are clearly working on the problem, or at the very least, thinking about it. But in the meantime, how does AI affect us now? And by us, I mean us as writers. I wear two writing hats. The first one is a workman’s cap I don in my day job as a freelance copywriter, writing marketing material for technology companies. If I’m replaced in that capacity it won't be by AI - it’ll be by a person using AI. It’s in my own best interests, therefore, to ensure I become a person that knows how to use AI. My other hat is worn in the pursuit of creative writing (and I like to think of it as a fedora I wear at a rakish and jaunty angle.) The path to publication is littered with the bodies of writers who ignored advances in technology, their handwritten manuscripts piled onto the scrapheap, soon to be joined by the typewriter and the floppy disk. Once a thing has been invented, it cannot be uninvented. It’s here to stay, at least until the next Latest Thing is invented to replace it, so ignoring it means at best we have no say in how it’ll be used. At worst we become redundant. But does AI fall into this category? This is a technology that changes not so much the way we record or deliver our work, but instead forces us to look at where the work comes from. It forces us to look at the very concept of creativity. What is creativity in writing anyway? In his book Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide, John Cleese describes the processes at work when we create. He discusses the cognitive functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain and the roles they play in creativity. There is the childlike playfulness and curiosity of the right brain leading to idea generation and the analytical engine of the left brain that shapes and moulds those ideas. When engaged in creative activities, we switch constantly between these two modes of thinking. In my view, it is the ability to integrate these two ways of thinking that still gives us the edge over anything that current iterations of AI technology are capable of. It comes down to the type of reasoning that machine learning algorithms use - and also what type of reasoning they don’t use. Early AI systems were based on a method of reasoning called deductive inference. This is a method of drawing a definitive conclusion from known facts: All pigs have four legs. Wilbur is a pig. Therefore Wilbur has four legs. ChatGTP is the current poster boy for AI. Like most of its counterparts it has moved on from simply using deductive inference and now also uses a form of reasoning called inductive inference, which in essence means knowledge through experience or observation. It’s a way of drawing general conclusions from incomplete data: Every pig I’ve ever seen has four legs. Look! Here’s another pig and it has four legs too. Therefore all pigs have four legs. Both deductive and inductive inference are examples of left brain logical thinking. What makes human thinking special, though, is a different type of reasoning called abductive inference. This is the ability to “think outside the box”, to hypothesise and theorise. We guess, we make stuff up based not on what we already know, but what we intuit. We daydream, we wonder, we imagine, and we go beyond the scope of the information at hand: A pig wanders out into a farmyard. George Orwell: 1, 2, 3, 4… yep, that’s a pig, alright. They’re quite intelligent actually. In fact, if the animals ever rose up and took over the farm, I bet it’d be the pigs that led the revolution. Ooh, wait! That might work as an allegory for the Russian Revolution. I wonder if I could work that up as a critique of totalitarianism and abuse of power…? I may have embellished that last example slightly. But there are two things to note about abductive inference. First, it is an example of right brain imaginative thinking. Second, there is currently no good working theory that explains how the human mind does this. And if we don’t know how we do it ourselves, we can’t teach an AI to do it either. Intelligence requires creativity. Creativity requires both left and right brain thinking; it needs abductive reasoning too. We don’t yet have true Artificial Intelligence. We have Artificial Inference, and only a limited form of that. One final thought. The creative human mind gives us an ability to communicate ideas through storytelling that sets us apart as a species. But for all that, none of us can really know what it is to be inside the mind of another human being, to see the world as they see it. Our attempts at conveying that, at communicating what it is to be ‘me’, is a pretty good working definition of art. One day the boffins might work out abductive inference and we may yet see the world the way an AI sees it, but until then I’ll want to know what it’s like to be in your head. So tell me a story.

If You Write… "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” - Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Hello from Caversham Writers! While Alex and Fourbears Books are here to help you with the first part of King’s advice, at Caversham Writers we aim to help with the second part: the writing. Writing is a bit like drug addiction. You send yourself off into other worlds and at some point you'll need the support of friends. We can be your friends. But don't expect an intervention, we’re your enablers. We feed our habit every Wednesday with events that vary from week to week: Writing Events Of course, our core meeting is a writing session. These alternate between prompted sessions, in which I set a prompt or starting point for you to follow; and unprompted, in which you can carry on with your current work in progress, or start a new project. At these writing sessions, we’ll often share some of what we have written (or if not, discuss how we’re getting on) but you’re not obliged to do so. Only share what you feel comfortable with. Feedback Events If you do want to share some of your writing, we have meetings dedicated to that too. In Writeshare Night, we offer members the opportunity to read out to the rest of the group a piece of their writing - a short story, a chapter from a longer work, a poem or two. Members can then get some instant feedback from their peers. For some more formal and considered critique, we also have a feedback event where members can submit a longer piece in advance of the meeting and ask members some specific questions about the sort of feedback they are looking for. Social Events We have a regular ‘Writes & Bites’ event where we meet up at a local restaurant and get to know each other (and our writing) a little better. We also have occasional Bookshare Nights where we discuss our favourite books and how they might influence what or how we write. Author Events Last year I was thrilled to interview some wonderful local authors about their writing process, their books and their path to publication. Anita Frank (author of The Lost Ones) came along to talk to us about her new novel The Return and Rupal Patel inspired us all by talking about her book on leadership and personal development, From CIA To CEO. I hope to hold many more events like this in 2023. Caversham Writers started in 2018, when Canadian author Crystal Bourque (you can also find her on Instagram and Facebook) hosted the inaugural meeting in Caversham’s Costa Coffee. One of the first things Crystal told us was “if you write, you’re a writer”. And it doesn’t matter what you write (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, journaling), or who you write for (just for yourself? Great!) - you’ll fit right in and be welcomed. When Crystal returned to Canada in 2019 I took over running the group and that foundational message is usually the first thing I say when greeting new members. If you write, you’re a writer and that means we are open to all, whatever your level of experience. We welcome absolute beginners and published professionals alike. If you’re an aspiring author or an enthusiastic hobbyist with no intention of getting published, no worries. All you need is an interest in writing and a desire to write. We meet both in person and online via Zoom (during lockdown we were joined by writers all over the world and many of them still add their voices to the group). Which brings us back to Fourbears Books. Alex is kind enough to have us in the bookshop for many of our events, usually the writing sessions. He is such a great supporter of the local community and we are so grateful to him. And what better place to write than in a wonderful independent bookshop, surrounded and inspired by books, books and more books! If you would like a regular fix of writing, you can join Caversham Writers for free on Meetup. We usually have our events and meetings posted a few weeks in advance there, so see what takes your fancy and come meet the gang! Oh, and all of our regular meetings are free too - no event or admin fee! What do YOU want to write? Adrian

Hello! It’s my first Blog. I’m sure this will evolve and change over time but I wanted to start off by saying hello and thank you for visiting the Fourbears Books Website. The plan is to use the blog to chat about books I’ve read, things I love about books and general musings about working in the book industry and being an Indie shop in competition with a giant. I’m sure you know who I am, but in case you don’t my name is Alex and Fourbears is my shop. It’s been such an incredible journey, and I can’t thank my loved ones enough for their support to get me to where we are now, and also the superstar and gentleman that is Brodie for setting this website up for me, and his beautiful illustrations that you’ll see throughout the pages. I don’t think there is anything better than a good book. However, finding the good book is not always straightforward. When I opened the shop I was often a sucker for the sales pitch from the Publishers, and I soon found out that although they say a book is great, it didn’t mean I agreed, and more importantly, you lovely customers didn’t want to buy that particular book either. Supermarkets are flooded with heavily discounted books, usually because the author is famous and the books on display in other non Indie shops are not always the centre of attention on merit. Some of our best selling books are when we’ve recommend a certain book to customers. It was because of this I also discovered that if I didn’t enjoy a book, I really struggle to sell it. My heart isn’t in the sales pitch. My eyes glaze over and I sometimes physically shrug and go ‘meh’ when describing the book. No one is going to be inspired to read that book. I want customers to love their choices and come back for more. I want children to finish a book and say “Can I read another book, please”. One of the best reviews I had from Jacob, the 11 year old at home, was when he finished ‘Good Detectives’ by Jenny McLachlan he asked if he could read the next in the series the same day. He was quite disappointed when I told him that a sequel hadn’t been written yet. I promise my customers if I tell you I like (or love) a book, it is because I genuinely do. Always feel free to ask for recommendations or suggestions and if you are looking for inspiration elsewhere don’t just rely on algorithms or advertisements that pop up on your eavesdropping phone. Look at reviews, speak to friends and family and then dive into a book. It increases the probability that you’ll enjoy the book, and then want to read more, which is beneficial for your mental health. A final little tip is if you are looking for books for the little people in your life, then look for reviews by other kids. Jacob doesn’t care that Gordon age 58 thought the storyline of a book was too similar to something he’d read before and the 11 year old was unrealistic in his eyes, and the character arcs were unconventional. Jacob’s view is so much more simple. Is the book fun, is the book interesting and does he want to read the next in the series. Come to think of it, it would be lovely if some adults didn’t overthink the reviews and just simply asked themselves if they enjoyed it. For clarity Gordon is fictional, although his review is not. Happy reading and I hope you manage to find a good book to read.