Do you Speak Chocolate?

This is such an aptly timed book for these times. The cover is enticing with some beautiful patterning and colours on the front.

The book a story about the ups and downs of Year 7 girls’ friendships revolving around the central character, Jaz. The whole book is very well observed not just on this issue but the many more that are intertwined throughout. The many other layers include the most important initial event that brings the whole story into life-the arrival of Nadima who doesn’t speak any English. The book unwraps like the bar of chocolate offered by Jaz as a gesture of friendship when Nadima is ushered into class with no English at all. The story then unfolds as the two girls develop a friendship using other ways of communicating but it also runs alongside managing a previous ‘best friend’ friendship in primary school with Lily who has since become friends with Kara. Jaz and Kara don’t get on and Lily is stuck in the middle hoping they do. This particular part of the books is very well done and accurate in my experience of dealing with girl friendship issues-always much more complicated, it seems than dealing with boy friendships…well for the most part!

Nadima’s story gradually becomes clear through some clever and moving scenes as Jaz and others come to understand more of her own story. The writing draws you in to getting to know the characters and you quickly become part of their lives. All of them have their own challenges and all work in their different ways-another great aspect of the book for discussion and just helping people think a little more.

This book very much reminds me of Neil Gaiman’s speech to the Book Trust about reading fiction to enable young people to empathise-reading opens the doors into other people’s worlds, sometimes ones we hope our own children don’t have to face. It is an excellent example of a book to make people think, maybe change people’s thinking and make us all a bit kinder for reading it.