Reviews

The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle by Victoria Williamson

briarsreviews's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is now one of my favourite middle grade reads. It's such a beautiful tale that also highlights the importance of social issues and throws in sports and animal welfare too. So many great connections points!

I ended up buying this book at a library book sale. They have these sales every year and I always get some really cool books out of them. Ones I would never stumble across in my regular book buying journey (or addiction/obsession...). This was definitely one of my greatest wins since I absolutely adored it. And this was one of the weird times where I read the book slowly because I loved it. I kept re-reading passages and thinking about how great this would be in a middle grade classroom. The focus on being a child who has immigrated to a new country and how difficult that is. The difficulty of being a daughter of a mother who might have an addiction and isn't the healthiest (in terms of toxicity) to be around. A message of grief, of animal welfare, or social justice. There's so many great themes in here and yet it's such a fantastic middle grade read at the same time. It didn't feel preachy or over the top. It felt so real and oh so beautiful.

And there's baby foxes, so who doesn't love those?

I need this book to be more well known, just for the sake of me loving it so much and wanting to talk about it. Middle grade school classrooms should be doing case studies on this book as an option. Victoria Williamson deserves lots of love for this absolutely beautiful book.

Five out of five stars.

meg2009's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Islamophobia

Minor: Gun violence and War

rebekkavanh's review

emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

carolineroche's review

5.0

A beautifully written book about two girls - Reema a refugee from Syria, and Caylin, a lonely bully who is dealing with a difficult situation at home. Initially antagonistic, Caylin gradually befriends Reema who has come to live in her apartment complex. Refreshingly, Caylin doesn’t not like Reema because she is a refugee, but simply because she is scarred to make friends with anyone at all. It’s a lovely story of reconciliation and healing, where the girls become friends when they look after an injured fox and her cubs who they shelter, secretly, in their shared garden. A great read.

yvsmovingcastle's review

5.0

This is a stunning middle grade fiction that deals with so many heavy topics like loss, poverty, addiction and war but still manages to keep firmly character focused. It's beautiful and should be on every school's reading list

internationalkris's review

4.0

Caylin is in the middle of some very difficult circumstances, her mother has an alcohol addiction and is out of work and suffering from depression following the death of her father. Caylin gets by in life by bullying other kids and stealing in order to bring home enough food for herself and her mom. At school she stays quiet in order to hide her lisp and to stay off the radar of the other students and teachers. She is afraid to hope or to see anything positive in the world but that changes when she finds an injured fox and her 5 babies behind a garden shed at her apartment building. Reema and her family are newly arrived in Scotland after fleeing Syria and spending many months at a refugee camp. The family is grateful to have a safe place to land but they are all traumatized by the experiences that they have been through, especially the separation from their eldest child who was lost on the journey. Reema does not want to call Scotland home but caring for the fox in her back garden begins to open her up to this new land. In alternating chapters the story progresses with some positive steps forward for the girls but also with many steps back. Some things can be predicted as the plot advances but there are surprises as well. It's a very lovely middle grade book with a lot of regional color from both Scotland and Syria. This novel started as a three-star book for me but crept up to four-stars around page 50 when the girls truly began to see each other.

annaira_c's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

4.25

readingrobin's review

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Always had a soft spot for stories featuring two characters from different worlds who come together and find that they have more in common than they realized. Caylin and Reema are two characters that know the trauma of loss, to varying degrees sure, but they know what it means to lose someone dear to you. They bond through caring for an injured fox, sympathizing with a creature that is deemed unwanted by society and has access to a kind of freedom they long for. Though getting off to a rocky start, the two develop a close friendship, bringing out the best in each other and staying resilient in troubled times.

An inspirational story for sure, great for helping children empathize with refugee stories and introducing them to the harder aspects of life certain children go through. 

clarkso6's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wonderful book about friendship and overcoming diversity and adversity for younger readers.  

writingwwolves's review

5.0

This was such a lovely book that centred on the importance of good friends & feeling like you belong. Reema & Caylin’s characters were fab & I adored their development throughout the story. Plus, there’s foxes! 💕

I received this book from Kelpies in return for an honest review.

⚠️ This book contains an Islamophobic character ⚠️

Extended Review: https://wp.me/p8MbIo-2Bq