With large text, this is a rapid but vibrant read about a young parent Emoni, who has to balance her schooling with motherhood, employment and her friendships. The characters are lively with their Caribbean speech, makes you smile and feel a part of their community, but this extract doesn’t offer anything new to this genre.
The plot follows the lines of a teenager with a baby, her grandmother looking after the child whilst she does her schooling during the week, working in a burger shack at the weekend. Emoni has a talent for cooking and dreams of doing this as a career, the book starts with a random recipe to highlight this theme, which I wasn’t a fan of, however I don’t know how it sits with the rest of the story yet.
Emoni reflects that she is not a role model to others, but she wants to take her parenting seriously and strives to achieve. This poses an interesting conundrum with how a teenager balances so many jobs: school child, employee, mother, then there are the chemical changes within their own bodies throwing curve balls all over.
The other characters are her best friend who swears and likes to dress to impress, her school teacher is an interesting character who takes her job seriously and has a soft spot for Emoni. They all generate a rather sociable and supportive environment for a young mother, it’s hard to see where the depth to this story will come from, which may make it a little too light hearted and one dimensional for my enjoyment. I have my hopes on the father being a terrible tearaway to confound our protagonist's efforts but I won’t be reading the full book to find out.
The plot follows the lines of a teenager with a baby, her grandmother looking after the child whilst she does her schooling during the week, working in a burger shack at the weekend. Emoni has a talent for cooking and dreams of doing this as a career, the book starts with a random recipe to highlight this theme, which I wasn’t a fan of, however I don’t know how it sits with the rest of the story yet.
Emoni reflects that she is not a role model to others, but she wants to take her parenting seriously and strives to achieve. This poses an interesting conundrum with how a teenager balances so many jobs: school child, employee, mother, then there are the chemical changes within their own bodies throwing curve balls all over.
The other characters are her best friend who swears and likes to dress to impress, her school teacher is an interesting character who takes her job seriously and has a soft spot for Emoni. They all generate a rather sociable and supportive environment for a young mother, it’s hard to see where the depth to this story will come from, which may make it a little too light hearted and one dimensional for my enjoyment. I have my hopes on the father being a terrible tearaway to confound our protagonist's efforts but I won’t be reading the full book to find out.