Reviews

Needle by Patrice Lawrence

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I have mixed feelings about this book, on one hand I was gripped at points and quite enjoyed it but on the other hand I kept getting annoyed at all the double negatives. Like "I haven't met no dinosaur face to face," (on the first page) where the second negative cancels out the first to make a positive. I think the double negatives did help to show the character's voice but as soon as you start to notice them, you can't stop (that's why I'm saying the review has spoilers, just in case someone else is reading it and then they start noticing them after they read this).
Really my disliking for the double negatives is a petty thing and overall for such a short book you really got to know the character.

robin_h's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

missoliviareadsbooks's review

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4.0

Nominated for the YOTO Carnegie Medal 2023

4.5 stars

Oooooofffhhh - this hit me in my emotions too.

Patrice Lawrence is an absolute literary goddess (who I have had the honour to meet more than once) and has such a way with addressing subjects that many will avoid talking about because of how "sensitive" they are.

In "Needle", we meet Charlene who despite all the challenges of losing her mother and growing up in the foster care system split up from her younger sister, just wants to be safe, secure and create something for her sister to cherish - a dinosaur blanket.

But what happens when Charlene refuses to apologise when everyone tells her she is in the wrong?

My heart broke for Charlene in this, especially in that she was only doing the right thing in her eyes to protect what she cherishes most.

This is another superb outing from Queen Patrice Lawrence.

coops456's review

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5.0

A short but beautiful read, about love, and choices, and empathy.

I'm 50 years old, but I can still remember the rage I felt as a teenager. Which was actually so many different feelings - from grief to shame to frustration to misery - that I felt unable to express and which leaked out as anger and sullenness.
And if I'd not been able to channel my energies into sport, if I'd not had the consistent loving presence of my mum, if I'd not been white and middle-class and so pigeonholed differently by authority figures, where might that rage have led me?

This made me cry. And think.

ruthmaloney's review

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5.0

A book that packs a punch that bellies the format. Lawrence has captured an extremely complex situation and given depth to her characters all within so few pages. She needs to have a word with authors like Donna Tartt.

taulkstoomuch's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Its hard to rate short stories, I wish that it was slightly linger so we could truly focus on the impact the youth justice system had on Charlene. Pretty good story otherwise.

jdalton's review

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5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Barrington Stoke Teen for a review copy of this story.

Though this story is short, that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. How do we say sorry when we don’t have anything to be sorry for? That’s the question Charlene has to face when the injustices she faces are used against her in ways that don’t seem fair.

I loved both the simplicity of the story telling as well as the imagery of knitting, especially as a novice knitter myself. So when Charlene’s work got ruined, my heart broke along side it, and that transferred over as we learned more about her and the tragic events of her past.