“The Distance between Me and The Cherry Tree” is a short and simple Middle Grade novel that’s suitable for all ages. The story is about a young girl losing her sight, inspired by the author's own life experiences. At the age of nine, Mafalda has been diagnosed with a rare genetic illness called Stargardt Disease, which causes progressive vision lose, and eventually blindness and there is no cure to date.
Told in perspective of the MC, this book takes the readers to dive into Mafalda’s life as the progressive of her vision becomes worst day by day. Throughout her daily routine, we can see how brave Mafalda character is. Despite knowing that she soon is going to be blind, that doesn’t stop her to live her life. We can see that she’s scared but she tries her very best not to show that by living her life without depending too much on her parents or people around her. That’s such a strong spirit.
Almost all the characters in this book are very supportive especially Estella. Instead of trying to comfort Mafalda with “good news” like her parents, Estella always being honest with her. I think there’s something we can learn from this. As a parents, it’s our job to protect our kids from any harm and I can understand the reason why her parents acted the way they did but in my opinion, it’s better if they are being honest with her, explaining the situation rather than keeping her in the dark. This way, she will feel more comfortable to share whatever it is in her mind with her parents.
Disability maybe is going to make you feel different from people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live your life like normal people. You will need some help, YES! But that doesn’t make you less than other. Oftentimes, people treats people with disability differently, making them feel less than other people and this is so WRONG! People with disability is still a human being just like you are. They are person, who just happens to have a disability and they are perfect just like others.
Recommended!
Told in perspective of the MC, this book takes the readers to dive into Mafalda’s life as the progressive of her vision becomes worst day by day. Throughout her daily routine, we can see how brave Mafalda character is. Despite knowing that she soon is going to be blind, that doesn’t stop her to live her life. We can see that she’s scared but she tries her very best not to show that by living her life without depending too much on her parents or people around her. That’s such a strong spirit.
Almost all the characters in this book are very supportive especially Estella. Instead of trying to comfort Mafalda with “good news” like her parents, Estella always being honest with her. I think there’s something we can learn from this. As a parents, it’s our job to protect our kids from any harm and I can understand the reason why her parents acted the way they did but in my opinion, it’s better if they are being honest with her, explaining the situation rather than keeping her in the dark. This way, she will feel more comfortable to share whatever it is in her mind with her parents.
Disability maybe is going to make you feel different from people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live your life like normal people. You will need some help, YES! But that doesn’t make you less than other. Oftentimes, people treats people with disability differently, making them feel less than other people and this is so WRONG! People with disability is still a human being just like you are. They are person, who just happens to have a disability and they are perfect just like others.
Recommended!