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wyvernfriend's review against another edition
4.0
A reworking of What Katy Did and works well on it's own. A foolish accident lands Katy with issues that she needs to work out before she can move on. Deals a lot with disability.
aotora's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I genuinely liked this book - I never read the original and this book uses some problematic words like cripple and invalid - but whilst invalid is never really corrected - cripple is. Katy is understandably really angry after the accident - learning that you won't be able to walk again or run or do most of the things you did before makes you angry and depressed and she just wants to rile everybody up. So when she says she is a cripple one of the nurses corrects her and tells her that she shouldn't use that world again and she explains why she shouldn't do that - I feel like that was presented well for kids and should be used as a great conversation starter about why we shouldn't use that word but we should use other more appropriate words. I think that the word invalid was just never really corrected because it was used in the original book I guess - the book is pretty realistic. It's about Katy. A wild kid who loves to run, jump and explore but cannot really connect to her step mother or her step sister because she is still grieving her mother. Then she has an accident and she is suddenly wheelchair bound and her life turns upside down - the only things I really didn't like in this book was fat shaming - one of her brothers is constantly called greedy and big and his entire personality is him overeating and stealing food from other kids and the fact that at one point her father says that she should listen to Izzy since she is her mother - she is not though. Her mother died and she understandably doesn't want to call Izzy mother or see her as a mother - but that's brushed aside since they end up having a pretty decent relationship by the end of the book. Overall a great book for kids about someone suddenly becoming disabled and dealing with it as a young kid.
_marcied's review against another edition
3.0
this book is one of jaqueline wilson’s better books in my opinion. i thought it was realistic and the characters were well thought out. however the most annoying thing - which happens in a lot of her books - is that the fat characters only personality trait is food and loving food. not only is this just downright offensive, but it also just got genuinely annoying by the first 100 pages. like does he ever talk about anything other than food?
in addition there were also some incredibly ill informed and ignorant moments, and why did we take 200 pages to get to the point? jaqueline wilson is a very good storyteller but this was just a bit ass.
i would like to rate this 2.5, however goodreads apparently doesn’t do that
in addition there were also some incredibly ill informed and ignorant moments, and why did we take 200 pages to get to the point? jaqueline wilson is a very good storyteller but this was just a bit ass.
i would like to rate this 2.5, however goodreads apparently doesn’t do that
cinderelles's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book and the book it is based off of, [b:What Katy Did|730501|What Katy Did|Susan Coolidge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327538133l/730501._SX50_.jpg|1401152] for a school report. I liked What Katy Did better, but this book was still fun and quite good, and much more realistic about Katy's accident. (In the original, even Katy can't explain why she just randomly starts walking again!) The best part of the book was 100% when it introduced me to one of my new very favorite books[b:Nancy and Plum|97153|Nancy and Plum|Betty MacDonald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1171370863l/97153._SX50_.jpg|1772706], which Katy reads to her little siblings on Christmas.
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a Katy who had the original bought for me as a child because of my name. And I loved it, and read it several times. But as an adult, thinking back to it, and its morals - it's not as relevant or easy to identify with the characters.
Jacqueline Wilson has, in my opinion, done an excellent job on bringing the story into a contemporary family and setting. Her Katy is very familiar from her other books: spunky, clumsy, makes mistakes, strong-willed, very chatty (and of course - a reader). Half the book is her story, setting the scene of her blended family (6 children in total, a stepmother instead of an aunt, still a doctor for a father).
Katy is irrepressible - the big sister who makes up games, gets into scrapes (I loved the update of the school incident), doesn't notice a loving little sister in the annoying hanger-on Elsie. So far, so Wilson - she specialises in family stories that showcase modern families of divorces and death, fights and frolics.
I thought the family members were all well-drawn, the cute LIttlies up to adoring Clover, had-working and much-loved Doctor Carr, and especially Izzy now portrayed as a slightly cold and nagging stepmother whose exasperation with Katy leads to the 'incident' that we all know is coming.
If we've read the original that is. This may be a shock to children coming to this story for the first time. A terrible accident sends Katy to the hospital, and trying to cope with a very different life from that of skateboarding and running around with her siblings. And again, Wilson handles this well, and in a way suited to contemporary life - her injury is treated as serious, her grief and disbelief are heart-breaking, but we can also see the Katy that she can't quite bring herself to admit exists - the slightly spiteful and petty girl, who misses her mother, is jealous of her stepmother and stepsister, and wants to be loved and admired by everyone.
It's an eye-opener for anyone who has never seen the result of a serious accident, as we also see the other children she meets in hospital, especially teenaged Dexter who eventually befriends the younger Katy, despite them both suffering days of despair and self-pity.
Her recovery, such a big part of Coolidge's original, is also well thought through. The difficulties of the family adapting to Katy's new life and disability, a possible return to school (a new secondary school, as well), the reactions of friends and acquaintances. I would have liked a little more of the neighbour's story, and also of Eva's (a rather vindictive and spoiled classmate).
The rather saccharine Helen here becomes a much more likeable and achievable former patient of Dr Carr's, who is still goodness and kindness itself, without being quite so preachy and perfect. Helen, herself disabled, helps Katy to envisage a future with her new situation.
The book ends on a much more realistic note than Coolidge (and without any preaching or lessons learned), for though Katy has learned to accept herself, she has seen her faults and is trying hard to change them, and is also excited about the possibilities the future holds. I smiled at the end and wholeheartedly approve Wilson's ending, as parent and reader.
This looks long, but really isn't. I love that the old classics that most children would turn their noses up at today are being made fresh and accessible again by talented writers who can keep the spirit and tone of the book present, while making the characters and story more relevant to the very different world of 21st century children. Here we have emails and texts, references to the Great British Bake Off and Patrick Ness but in a story from more than a century past.
I look forward to the next, Ms Wilson.
Jacqueline Wilson has, in my opinion, done an excellent job on bringing the story into a contemporary family and setting. Her Katy is very familiar from her other books: spunky, clumsy, makes mistakes, strong-willed, very chatty (and of course - a reader). Half the book is her story, setting the scene of her blended family (6 children in total, a stepmother instead of an aunt, still a doctor for a father).
Katy is irrepressible - the big sister who makes up games, gets into scrapes (I loved the update of the school incident), doesn't notice a loving little sister in the annoying hanger-on Elsie. So far, so Wilson - she specialises in family stories that showcase modern families of divorces and death, fights and frolics.
I thought the family members were all well-drawn, the cute LIttlies up to adoring Clover, had-working and much-loved Doctor Carr, and especially Izzy now portrayed as a slightly cold and nagging stepmother whose exasperation with Katy leads to the 'incident' that we all know is coming.
If we've read the original that is. This may be a shock to children coming to this story for the first time. A terrible accident sends Katy to the hospital, and trying to cope with a very different life from that of skateboarding and running around with her siblings. And again, Wilson handles this well, and in a way suited to contemporary life - her injury is treated as serious, her grief and disbelief are heart-breaking, but we can also see the Katy that she can't quite bring herself to admit exists - the slightly spiteful and petty girl, who misses her mother, is jealous of her stepmother and stepsister, and wants to be loved and admired by everyone.
It's an eye-opener for anyone who has never seen the result of a serious accident, as we also see the other children she meets in hospital, especially teenaged Dexter who eventually befriends the younger Katy, despite them both suffering days of despair and self-pity.
Her recovery, such a big part of Coolidge's original, is also well thought through. The difficulties of the family adapting to Katy's new life and disability, a possible return to school (a new secondary school, as well), the reactions of friends and acquaintances. I would have liked a little more of the neighbour's story, and also of Eva's (a rather vindictive and spoiled classmate).
The rather saccharine Helen here becomes a much more likeable and achievable former patient of Dr Carr's, who is still goodness and kindness itself, without being quite so preachy and perfect. Helen, herself disabled, helps Katy to envisage a future with her new situation.
The book ends on a much more realistic note than Coolidge (and without any preaching or lessons learned), for though Katy has learned to accept herself, she has seen her faults and is trying hard to change them, and is also excited about the possibilities the future holds. I smiled at the end and wholeheartedly approve Wilson's ending, as parent and reader.
This looks long, but really isn't. I love that the old classics that most children would turn their noses up at today are being made fresh and accessible again by talented writers who can keep the spirit and tone of the book present, while making the characters and story more relevant to the very different world of 21st century children. Here we have emails and texts, references to the Great British Bake Off and Patrick Ness but in a story from more than a century past.
I look forward to the next, Ms Wilson.
georgiarae_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lisaar91's review
4.0
As a kid I loved Jacqueline Wilson so much so when I spied this in the charity shop I thought I’d read it for nostalgic purposes. Very cute book and Ten year old me would have loved it
alin2301's review against another edition
5.0
BEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ. THIS WAS SUCH AN EXPERIENCE. CHILDHOOD FAV. PLEASEPLEASE READ THIS WHILE U STILL HAVE A LIFE.
lucyslifex's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
rhi_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you loved What Katy Did or Jacqueline Wilson (or both!) as a kid, you're going to have a good time. It's nice to have someone retell this overlooked classic, and update it for modern sensibilities. I think the target audience would really benefit from reading both back to back, not only to counteract the views of wheelchair users, but also to introduce the idea of reading through a historical lens, and how things change over time.