The Magic Carpet by Jessica Norrie – Book Review

PUBLISHERS BLURB 

Outer London, September 2016, and neighbouring eight-year-olds have homework: prepare a traditional story to perform with their families at a school festival. But Nathan’s father thinks his son would be better off doing sums; Sky’s mother’s enthusiasm is as fleeting as her bank balance, and there’s a threatening shadow hanging over poor Alka’s family. Only Mandeep’s fragile grandmother and new girl Xoriyo really understand the magical powers of storytelling. As national events and individual challenges jostle for the adults’ attention, can these two bring everyone together to ensure the show will go on?

MY REVIEW 

The Magic Carpet is set in a London school, where young children of 8 years old are turning fairy tales into a school performance.

They have been told they can make any changes they like and include anyone they want to.

So we follow the children to their homes and meet their families…..all from different backgrounds and it’s really a beautiful way of hearing all these stories. The different cultures, religions and languages and how they managed to make their lives in London.

There are grandparents, single parents, good and bad marriages and some sadness as there’s not always a happy ending….

A lovely diverse group of children and adults and not forgetting the difficult job the teachers do with almost limitless patience.

The final performances the children have created are thoughtful and show how the young really hold the power to change the world and our perceptions of it. Moving and thought provoking.

Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book. This is my honest, unbiased review.

You can buy a copy here 

 

https://amzn.to/2NgfAbQ

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessica Norrie was born in London and studied French Literature and Education at Sussex and Sheffield. She taught English, French and Spanish abroad and in the UK in settings ranging from nursery to university. She has two adult children and divides her time between London and Malvern, Worcestershire.

 

She has also worked as a freelance translator, published occasional journalism and a French textbook, and blogs at https://jessicanorrie.wordpress.com

 

Jessica sings soprano with any choir that will have her, and has been trying to master the piano since childhood but it’s not her forte.

 

She left teaching in 2016. The Infinity Pool was her first novel, drawing on encounters while travelling. Her second novel The Magic Carpet is inspired by working with families and their children. The third is bubbling away nicely and should emerge from her cauldron next year.

 

The Magic Carpet is available at https://tinyurl.com/y2gk2g7q

The Infinity Pool is available at getBook.at/TheInfinityPool

 

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/wordsandfictions/

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessica_