Summary from Egmont
Jemma knows who did the murder. She knows because he told her. And she can't tell anyone.
Fourteen-year-old
Jemma has severe cerebral palsy. Unable to communicate or move, she
relies on her family and carer for everything. She has a sharp brain and
inquisitive nature, and knows all sorts of things about everyone. But
when she is confronted with this terrible secret, she is utterly
powerless to do anything. Though that might be about to change...
Nayu's thoughts
This book reached me in a magical way. Rather
the publicist Nina is magical. We were exchanging emails about the blog tour
one day and I mentioned I hadn't got a copy. After discussing what I'd do
for content as I was after an alternate to divulging small secrets, the post came.
I went to check amd the book appeared! I hastily emailed Nina back explaining
how magical she is after she said we magicked the book to my door. Publicists
are extremely fun people to be around!
As for the book...it's spectacularly epic. I know a
friend with cerebal palsy, she can walk with sticks so unlike Jemma can move
around and communicate just fine. I was intrigued by how Jemma's clearly more
severe CP affected her, and was quite humbled by her life. I live with several
medical issues including severe chronic pain and fatigue issues, so my life can
be rather restrictive in what I can do. Jemma's life made me realise while
there is a lot I can't do, what I can do has me mostly independant, able to
share my views with you and anyone else in the world, something Jemma wants
ever so badly.
I think because I'm not a normal average healthy person (who in
reality probably doesn't exist) I connected deeper than I expected with Jemma.
Her need to share her likes and dislikes are clear, with the stakes getting
higher when she knows about the murderer's identity. It's very much an edge
of your seat read, with lots of learning what life is like for severely
disabled people. Carers range from the amazing kind to the absolutely rubbish
ones (minor spoiler when I say oh my word what was Rosie thinking!) I felt
desperately sorry for all who are treated poorly because people mistakenly
think because they can't speak they aren't intelligent. Not so. Jemma is the
one who figures out the murderer and how to find them, something that people in
power overlooked.
Jemma and her new best
friend was a touching storyline. I liked reading about the other foster
children - I'm a big fan of the BBC Tracey Beaker spin-off The Dumping Ground
about a care home with children of varying issues, so I was used to Finn and
Olivia's behaviour. The taste of freedom Jemma got when she was able to
communicate is palpable, and I can relate it to when I realised I'd be able to
drive & not rely on my family to take me places since public transport is
out of the question for me to use frequently.
Jemma had many frustrations with
the limitations of her body, but her patience is massive too, and I truly
realised that I'm extremely blessed by what I can do, even when mundane
activities take forever and requires an insane amount of rest after. A lot of
readers may be shocked by how much care Jemma needs, which is why it's vital
for carers to have compassion and understanding that no matter their
capabilities everyone is human and should be treated with respect and dignity.
I hope that everyone one day can communicate, as it's a vital part of life which everyone deserves, regardless of their limitations. May technology always improve!
Keep up to date with Penny on Twitter.
Questions and Answers with Penny Joelson
 |
| Here's Penny! |
Nayu: Penny kindly answered my questions which were from before I'd read the book instead of partaking in the sharing secrets part of the tour!
1) Cerebal palsy affects people in different ways: I’ve got a friend with it but she
can speak, unlike Jemma. What gave you the idea to make Jemma struggle to
communicate with people as a key part to the plot?
Penny: I didn’t start by thinking I’d write a story about a
character with cerebral palsy. I started with the idea that the one person who
knew the identity of a murderer was not able to say anything. Having
met, and worked with, people with severe cerebral palsy Jemma’s character
appeared in my head fully formed and she seemed a great person to tell
this story.
2) Most of us
take the ability to speak without realising how blessed we are with being
able to communicate with people. What are you hoping readers will take
away from Jemma’s story?
I hope that readers will have more empathy with people who
have communication difficulties and also will not make an assumption that lack
of communication equals a lack of intelligence. I hope readers will be
more sensitive and less afraid of trying to engage with disabled people.
3) Without
giving away spoilers what were the easiest and hardest parts of the book
to write?
Jemma’s inner voice came to life very easily and Dan was
also easy to write. I think developing the characters, including Sarah, Mum,
Dad, Olivia and Finn was the easiest part. The harder parts were those that
required more in depth research and needed to be accurate rather than from my
imagination. It was also hard to get the structure right as the story is quite
complex.
4) Will there
be more books about Jemma in the future?
I didn’t imagine writing another book about Jemma but I
wouldn’t rule it out entirely!
5) Where's your
favourite place to write? Do you have a favourite drink to write with?
I do most of my writing in the corner of my bedroom – not
very glamorous. Occasionally I will write in the garden or go to a café but
very rarely. I don’t usually drink anything while I’m writing though I do stop
for coffee breaks!
Suggested read
This book is about another teen with mental health issues that make her life really hard:Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall (Young Adult, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)
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