foreverday's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3 (+--)
Book Warnings: There's a death in it, and a bit of 'universe' sort of thing
I think I am the wrong age to read this book. Because I think that if I had read it when I was about the age of the protagonist I would've enjoyed it a lot more, and we do need books aimed at that age group (esp ones that deal with death).
Anyway, it was a sweet story and the relationship between her and her grandmother was very nice (and I liked seeing a sympathetic representation of a hospice in a kids story). The bits I didn't like were to do with the romance (because I really can't see a twelve year old boy being that romantic, not because there was anything wrong with how it was written) and there was just a lot going on. But, as said before, a nice story.
Book Warnings: There's a death in it, and a bit of 'universe' sort of thing
I think I am the wrong age to read this book. Because I think that if I had read it when I was about the age of the protagonist I would've enjoyed it a lot more, and we do need books aimed at that age group (esp ones that deal with death).
Anyway, it was a sweet story and the relationship between her and her grandmother was very nice (and I liked seeing a sympathetic representation of a hospice in a kids story). The bits I didn't like were to do with the romance (because I really can't see a twelve year old boy being that romantic, not because there was anything wrong with how it was written) and there was just a lot going on. But, as said before, a nice story.
rkendylb's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book under the American title: Mira in the Present Tense, but I couldn't change the edition on my phone. I really enjoyed this book. I generally like books with protagonists in middle school because it's a huge transition time in their lives. Your body changes, the way you view the world (and the people in it) changes, and the change can be stressful. Like Mira I kept a journal throughout middle school and wrote everything in it. I think this book was especially good because it had the symbolism of the artichoke in it. I think having a symbol like that can really tell you a lot about the book and the truths it contains for all of us. Perfect symbols like this are hard to find in books, simply because of the perfection. This was a wonderful book and I'd recommend it to just about anybody.
emma_bookaholic's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed this book, shows true family love and loyalty
shanameydala's review against another edition
3.0
This is a lovely book about pre-teen dealing with a dying grandmother that she is extremely close to, first love and puberty.
kashvm's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an enjoyable read. Very cute, very touching. I loved Nana Josie, i loved hearing the little things she did, I loved that she was so artistic, especially the idea of painting the coffin. And i really liked the sentimental things : The artichoke heart! I thought that was adorable.
I loved the writing club and the little drawings at the start of each chapter.
Overall, a very pleasnt read.
I loved the writing club and the little drawings at the start of each chapter.
Overall, a very pleasnt read.
soph256's review against another edition
5.0
Soooo I have re read this about 3 times which is a lot for me. I first read this in um 2018? Then again in 2020 and 2021. Idk the writing was just so relatable to me at the time as my uncle had just died of cancer, the journey the writing took me on was magical. If I read the book today I don't think it would impact me as much, but every time I read it is see 11 year old me dealing with grief and my heart breaks. Like how a book can hold so much emotion I don't know but this book does. Will a,ways be one of my top books ever.
aanya12's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful ending, words can't describe how splendid this book was, it'll take me a lot of time to come out of it,
This book is perfect for girls, who are young but don't come in the YA category, all teens and pre-teens will love this, dealing with issues like periods, this book is a must read :D
Spoiler
Mira Levenson in my opinion is a character quite beautifully woven the way she coped up with life, and Nana Josie is truly inspiring, the way she welcomes death is truly motivating.This book is perfect for girls, who are young but don't come in the YA category, all teens and pre-teens will love this, dealing with issues like periods, this book is a must read :D
jowillwrite's review against another edition
4.0
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Cute as a button.And I love buttons.
High Point.
A younger protagonist. Mira is only twelve and at first I thought it was going to be really difficult to relate to her, but she was such a glorious narrator…. But I’ll gush later on. Family! Hometown glory! First crushes. Best friends. Grief and morality. Learning. Writing. Diversity. Metaphors. Amazing teachers (I would stand on a chair for Pat Print). Cute siblings. Grandmas!
Low Points.
“The main thing about me is whenever I go to say something in class I blush up bright red so that before I’ve even opened my mouth, everyone knows how embarrassed I am, and after that I just clam up and lose the will to live.”
Seriously, it’s like Ms Brahmachari took that from my Year 7 memories- braces, bobs and over-sized rucksacks - and published it. It was so easy to relate to Mira and even though it was great writing… it did make me uneasy to remember how much of a loser I am. Um… was. How much of a loser I was.
I also would have liked to have Mira’s Indian and Jewish heritage explored a bit more. It would have been fascinating to really understand how this issue of multi-culturalism affected her day-to-day life. I respected how the book didn’t choose to focus completely on ethnicity because this book is all about dealing with grief and growing up, no matter what race you are.
But I would still have liked to find out more about it… because I’m nosey.
Heroine
I absolutely adored Mira. In real life she was so shy and bumbling and it was so endearing that my heart nearly broke every time she tried to say something in class but couldn’t find the words and/or confidence. BUT…. When she was writing her diary she was passionate. She was confident. She was funny. She was so sweet when it came to her crush on Jide (but more on that scamp later.) She was intelligent. She was full of sympathy. She wanted to understand what was happening to her grandma and she wasn’t afraid to ask questions that didn’t have simple actions.
So imagine my delight when the two sides of Mira merged into one and she remained humble and still a little shy but capable of standing up for herself and finding her own voice.
This was a true bildungsroman (Been looking for a chance to get that in one of these reviews sooner or later) and the characterisation of Mira was so perfect and honest and I loved that Brahmachari didn’t shy away from all the gory bits of a girl growing up (I’ll let you use your imagination.)
Love Interest.
Oh Jide. You little flirt. You are only twelve years old but I know you are going to break a few hearts when you grow up. Hopefully not Mira’s though…. Or else.
I liked to imagine that Jide is the mysterious loner boy in all these YA books only five years earlier. (Jide won’t become one of them though… I have faith he’ll see the light and remain awesome) . He’s a cheeky scamp who hides his intelligence and goofs around in class because it’s, like, totally lame to be clever in school, right?
But he has a sense of vulnerability about him, especially when you learn more about him and his history.
AND he goes to after-school writing classes and treats Mira with respect. YES.
These broody, mysterious loners have a lot to learn from Jide Jackson.
Nana.
I feel like Nana Josie needs a subtitle of her own, seeing as the book wouldn’t exist without her and she is that awesome. Nana is the coolest grandma ever.. well, except from mine. She is a hippy that never got over it. She wears vintage clothes. She’s spiritual. She’s sassy. She’s a flirt. She’s independent. She’s a twitcher. She doesn’t let the fact that she has cancer slow her down in the slightest. She is such an advocate for people to shake off their inhibitions, discover that their voice does need to be heard and to live life to the fullest.
And if that isn’t a message we should be teaching twelve year old girls, I don’t know what is.
Bravo Nana Josie!
Theme Tune.
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N- Noah and the Whale.
I was really struggling to find a song for this one… and I’m still not a hundred per cent I’ve made the right choice. (There was part of me that wanted to choose a poem instead because I was feeling CRAZY.)
But I love this song and if you ignore the verses, this song really conveys the message that Nana Josie has been trying to teach Mira at throughout the book.
Angst Scale.
8/10. This book doesn’t tread lightly around the inevitability of death and a lot of the passages are quite heavy going. But I think even though I think it’s important to not scare the living crap out of kids about things like this, it is of equal importance to not wrap them in cotton wool and dumb things down so they are condescending. For a book with such a young protagonist and a target audience that is much younger than the YA books I normally read, this book deals with death with a unique maturity and sensitivity that other books seriously lack. Really well-done.
There are so many other little side stories with the secondary characters that, even though subtle, are so heart-wrenching. But I’ll let you find out them yourselves.
Recommended For.
People who are on the ‘Y’ side of ‘YA’…but also people who don’t mind reading books with a younger protagonist. People who were always too shy to speak up in class. People who remember what first crushes were all about. People who wish more teachers set up writing-classes to get kids excited about literature. People who like books that deal with death and grief with maturity. People who have kick ass, fearless grandmas. People who like diversity. People who can draw. People who enjoy it when vegetables are used to convey a metaphor.
Cute as a button.And I love buttons.
High Point.
A younger protagonist. Mira is only twelve and at first I thought it was going to be really difficult to relate to her, but she was such a glorious narrator…. But I’ll gush later on. Family! Hometown glory! First crushes. Best friends. Grief and morality. Learning. Writing. Diversity. Metaphors. Amazing teachers (I would stand on a chair for Pat Print). Cute siblings. Grandmas!
Low Points.
“The main thing about me is whenever I go to say something in class I blush up bright red so that before I’ve even opened my mouth, everyone knows how embarrassed I am, and after that I just clam up and lose the will to live.”
Seriously, it’s like Ms Brahmachari took that from my Year 7 memories- braces, bobs and over-sized rucksacks - and published it. It was so easy to relate to Mira and even though it was great writing… it did make me uneasy to remember how much of a loser I am. Um… was. How much of a loser I was.
I also would have liked to have Mira’s Indian and Jewish heritage explored a bit more. It would have been fascinating to really understand how this issue of multi-culturalism affected her day-to-day life. I respected how the book didn’t choose to focus completely on ethnicity because this book is all about dealing with grief and growing up, no matter what race you are.
But I would still have liked to find out more about it… because I’m nosey.
Heroine
I absolutely adored Mira. In real life she was so shy and bumbling and it was so endearing that my heart nearly broke every time she tried to say something in class but couldn’t find the words and/or confidence. BUT…. When she was writing her diary she was passionate. She was confident. She was funny. She was so sweet when it came to her crush on Jide (but more on that scamp later.) She was intelligent. She was full of sympathy. She wanted to understand what was happening to her grandma and she wasn’t afraid to ask questions that didn’t have simple actions.
So imagine my delight when the two sides of Mira merged into one and she remained humble and still a little shy but capable of standing up for herself and finding her own voice.
This was a true bildungsroman (Been looking for a chance to get that in one of these reviews sooner or later) and the characterisation of Mira was so perfect and honest and I loved that Brahmachari didn’t shy away from all the gory bits of a girl growing up (I’ll let you use your imagination.)
Love Interest.
Oh Jide. You little flirt. You are only twelve years old but I know you are going to break a few hearts when you grow up. Hopefully not Mira’s though…. Or else.
I liked to imagine that Jide is the mysterious loner boy in all these YA books only five years earlier. (Jide won’t become one of them though… I have faith he’ll see the light and remain awesome) . He’s a cheeky scamp who hides his intelligence and goofs around in class because it’s, like, totally lame to be clever in school, right?
But he has a sense of vulnerability about him, especially when you learn more about him and his history.
AND he goes to after-school writing classes and treats Mira with respect. YES.
These broody, mysterious loners have a lot to learn from Jide Jackson.
Nana.
I feel like Nana Josie needs a subtitle of her own, seeing as the book wouldn’t exist without her and she is that awesome. Nana is the coolest grandma ever.. well, except from mine. She is a hippy that never got over it. She wears vintage clothes. She’s spiritual. She’s sassy. She’s a flirt. She’s independent. She’s a twitcher. She doesn’t let the fact that she has cancer slow her down in the slightest. She is such an advocate for people to shake off their inhibitions, discover that their voice does need to be heard and to live life to the fullest.
And if that isn’t a message we should be teaching twelve year old girls, I don’t know what is.
Bravo Nana Josie!
Theme Tune.
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N- Noah and the Whale.
I was really struggling to find a song for this one… and I’m still not a hundred per cent I’ve made the right choice. (There was part of me that wanted to choose a poem instead because I was feeling CRAZY.)
But I love this song and if you ignore the verses, this song really conveys the message that Nana Josie has been trying to teach Mira at throughout the book.
Angst Scale.
8/10. This book doesn’t tread lightly around the inevitability of death and a lot of the passages are quite heavy going. But I think even though I think it’s important to not scare the living crap out of kids about things like this, it is of equal importance to not wrap them in cotton wool and dumb things down so they are condescending. For a book with such a young protagonist and a target audience that is much younger than the YA books I normally read, this book deals with death with a unique maturity and sensitivity that other books seriously lack. Really well-done.
There are so many other little side stories with the secondary characters that, even though subtle, are so heart-wrenching. But I’ll let you find out them yourselves.
Recommended For.
People who are on the ‘Y’ side of ‘YA’…but also people who don’t mind reading books with a younger protagonist. People who were always too shy to speak up in class. People who remember what first crushes were all about. People who wish more teachers set up writing-classes to get kids excited about literature. People who like books that deal with death and grief with maturity. People who have kick ass, fearless grandmas. People who like diversity. People who can draw. People who enjoy it when vegetables are used to convey a metaphor.
gloriousbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Full review up on the blog: http://gloriousbooks.blogspot.com/2016/05/review-artichoke-hearts-by-sita.html
Told from 12 year old Mira's point of view, Artichoke Hearts is a coming of age story focusing on a young girl's thoughts and feelings as she waits for her grandmother to die.
I don't usually read books like this one. I was a little apprehensive when I saw that the main character is so much younger than me. Not that I don't read books with teens as the protagonists, it is in most YA, but Mira is young even for most YA. I was unsure, but I just decided to give it a go anyway.
As the book went on I liked Mira more and more. She was very down to earth, especially with what her character was going through, and her thoughts about her experiences were something every reader should relate to in some way. I loved how realistic the character's reactions to everything were - there were no huge breakdowns and 'how will I live after this' kind of attitude, it was all reasonable reactions that would happen to everyone. In a way, that made it all the more emotional.
I thought the book had a pretty slow start. It seemed so different in the beginning too, there was so much focus on art and all that good stuff and then things suddenly took a depressing turn. I realise that's how it should be, but I thought there wasn't really a transition in between. It kind of jumped from Nana Josie still being so enthusiastic to do whatever she needs to, and then next thing you know she's in a hospice. Yes, things can happen that quickly, but the way it read just didn't sit right with me.
There was a huge variation in characters which I adored. Every character, whether they played a huge part or not, made a really big difference to the story. There were characters that were only mentioned once or twice and they still managed to make my heart hurt. Whether I enjoyed the story or not, an author who can give a character that depth is very talented.
All in all I really liked this read. It was a little slow at times but the characters were wonderful and the plot was very touching. I would definitely recommend it.
Told from 12 year old Mira's point of view, Artichoke Hearts is a coming of age story focusing on a young girl's thoughts and feelings as she waits for her grandmother to die.
I don't usually read books like this one. I was a little apprehensive when I saw that the main character is so much younger than me. Not that I don't read books with teens as the protagonists, it is in most YA, but Mira is young even for most YA. I was unsure, but I just decided to give it a go anyway.
As the book went on I liked Mira more and more. She was very down to earth, especially with what her character was going through, and her thoughts about her experiences were something every reader should relate to in some way. I loved how realistic the character's reactions to everything were - there were no huge breakdowns and 'how will I live after this' kind of attitude, it was all reasonable reactions that would happen to everyone. In a way, that made it all the more emotional.
I thought the book had a pretty slow start. It seemed so different in the beginning too, there was so much focus on art and all that good stuff and then things suddenly took a depressing turn. I realise that's how it should be, but I thought there wasn't really a transition in between. It kind of jumped from Nana Josie still being so enthusiastic to do whatever she needs to, and then next thing you know she's in a hospice. Yes, things can happen that quickly, but the way it read just didn't sit right with me.
There was a huge variation in characters which I adored. Every character, whether they played a huge part or not, made a really big difference to the story. There were characters that were only mentioned once or twice and they still managed to make my heart hurt. Whether I enjoyed the story or not, an author who can give a character that depth is very talented.
All in all I really liked this read. It was a little slow at times but the characters were wonderful and the plot was very touching. I would definitely recommend it.
ggcube1012's review against another edition
3.0
Good book read at the wrong time.I don't really get the hype but it heralded my time .Particularly liked Pat Print.Some parts dragged alittle and I found myself indifferent toward reading it.