* I have received this book for review from the publisher as part of the blog tour but this in no way affects my review *
Title: The JungleAuthor: Pooja Puri
Source: From Publisher
Publisher: Ink Road
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Book Summary from Goodreads:
There was a story Jahir used to tell me. About how the first humans were born with wings. Can you imagine what that would be like? To fly anywhere in the world without worrying about having the right papers?
Mico has left his family, his home, his future. Setting out in search of a better life, he instead finds himself navigating one of the world's most inhospitable environments the Jungle. For Mico, just one of many 'unaccompanied children', the Calais refugee camp has a wildness, a brutality all of its own.
A melting pot of characters, cultures, and stories, the Jungle often seems like its own strange world. But despite his ambitions to escape, Mico is unable to buy his way out from the 'Ghost Men' the dangerous men with magic who can cross borders unnoticed. Alone, desperate, and running out of options, the idea of jumping onto a speeding train to the UK begins to feel worryingly appealing.
But when Leila arrives at the camp one day, everything starts to change. Outspoken, gutsy, and fearless, she shows Mico that hope and friendship can grow in the most unusual places, and maybe, just maybe, they'll show you the way out as well.
Book Review:
| I don't know how I feel about this book. The ending was quite strange and was a weird place to end. I understand that this book was trying to have a good message about displaced people and refugees but in my opinion, I don't know if it did that. The writing was really beautiful in places and some quotes were just so true that I did more tabs in my book that I rarely do. I guess my main problems came with the plots and the characters. Although I really liked the characters in the book like Mico and Laila and the relationship that occurred, I feel like their motives were quite stupid at times and I did not really like the actions. The massive downfall was the plot, however, I did enjoy the beginning of the novel much more and thought that is was harrowing and really poignant. From then on I did have problems, I did not like how the characters acted and what their motivations were and I saw them in a quite different light to how they were meant to be perceived. I think that someone else could see this in a different way and I think that I can too as I am going to write about it. I think that the aim was to show the struggles of The Jungle in Calais and what people would do to survive and although this is important for me it did not come across this way. |
The Verdict:
I do, however, give this book a lot of credit because to publish a book like this takes a lot of risks and it is still an important read. It shows that the life that could happen in a refugee camp and that these people do not need help and that this book does deserve a read.
Did you like The Jungle? Would you like to read The Jungle? Leave them in the comments below.
See you soon,
Amy
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