polly_baker's review against another edition
5.0
This is Britain. This is our youth. This is teaching. And none of it is as advertised.
It celebrates diversity, champions comprehensive schooling and exposes the raw challenges of being young. Heart-wrenching and life-affirming in equal measure.
Everyone should read this book.
It celebrates diversity, champions comprehensive schooling and exposes the raw challenges of being young. Heart-wrenching and life-affirming in equal measure.
Everyone should read this book.
octavosaurus's review against another edition
1.0
Congratulations Kate Clanchy, this is a book so riddled with stereotypes and racial generalisations that I couldn’t even get past the first chapter. Every single student not from the author’s middle class white background is treated as other, mocked mercilessly and used as cannon fodder to prove some kind of point. Ironically, the Kindle edition has a glowing review by Pullman on the front - the other book I gave one star to this year, only at least I could finish that.
queerditchmarsh's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
jokos's review against another edition
3.0
Some of it was v inspiring, some of it was... questionable. Not sure I enjoyed the way she describes the students' physical appearances. Also probably intentional, but there didn't seem to be any real cohesive overarching story to be told here and then it just ended.
evvahoo's review against another edition
5.0
incredibly good. filled with knowledge, experience, realities of children/teenagers, art and emotions.
kath61's review against another edition
3.0
Well written, as you would expect from a writer with such credentials, and I am sure she is a superb teacher. Some of the descriptions of disadvantaged pupils and their creative writing were inspirational. However there was a layer of self satisfaction that came across (for example when she talks about her schooling decisions for her son and 'cheering secretly' when other children fail the entrance exam to a private school, and 'no one ..talked about anything in the playground for a full three weeks' )and her evangelical personal, political and religious opinions did not sit so well with me.
sarracenia's review against another edition
2.0
DNF. As someone considering becoming a school teacher I expected to find this book inspiring but unfortunately it felt dull and repetitive. I didn't end up caring about any of the children described and I thought the author came across as naive at times.