The truth is often harder to tell.... (The Other Side of Truth - Beverley Naidoo)

Member Name: gememily

Product:	The Other Side of Truth - Beverley Naidoo
Date:	11/10/08 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great story line based on real modern day problems. Very easy to read and understand.

Disadvantages: Not suitable for younger children.

I was given this book to read as part of a course that I am on about children's books. I immediately thought I was not going to enjoy it as it appeared to be quite a grown up book and quite political.

However as I started to read the book I found it harder and harder to put it down. The book made me empathise with what the characters were going through and made me think about how I would feel if these same events had happened to me.

Although the book is written for children it is definately not for young children and can be enjoyed by adults just as much. The book has won the carnegie medal 2000 and the nestle smarties silver award.

Plot
The book takes you on a journey with two young children Sade and Femi who live in Nigeria. When disaster strikes they must flee to England as Nigeria is no longer safe for them to remain. However getting to England and surviving when they arrive is not as easy as it sounds.

When reading this book you will meet alsorts of people whos characeters you begin to understand and whos decisions become your own. Whilst I was reading the story I found myself become extremely angry about the decisions that people made and why everything seemed to take longer than it should. It opened my eyes to the injustices that people face everyday and the challenges they go through when fleeing for there lives.

This book is not just about refugees. It is also about children and the feelings they might have. It portrays the innocence of a child perfectly and makes you feel like you are a teenager again facing these same challenges.

As you read the book you are led through the story following Sade, a teenager, and you see the world through her eyes, even though this book is not written in 1st person it is written from a child's perspective which gives the reader and unknown element as they unravel the terrifying story.

Summary
This book is definately not for those who want to be taken far away from the world we live in when they read. It is full of events that could and most probably are happening in the world today. It is not suitable for young children but both teenagers and adults alike will find this a hard book to put down once they start reading it.

Summary: A good book that will make you think about things you may not have considered before.