Filippo, Me and the Cherry Tree

Mafalda is now thirteen. When we first met her in The Distance between Me and the Cherry Tree she was ten and learning how to cope with her deteriorating sight. Here her sight loss is much more acute; she can only distinguish a bright red in terms of colour – her life is dark. However, she remains cheerful as she negotiates the beginning if her teenage years. She has her friend Filippo, her cat and her family – and her diary. There are problems – the bullying Debbie in her class and her father suffering acute depression after losing his job are two. We learn all about them as she addresses us and the cherry tree.

Readers who met Mafalda in the earlier book will relish finding out more about her; if she is a new acquaintance they will want to go back to find out who everyone is. Peretti’s voice is as fresh as ever and Mafalda steps off the page to engage the reader with her thoughts, anxieties and determination. The diary style which avoids long descriptive passages for the immediacy of the present tense and first-person narration ensures that there can be no delay in turning the page, in walking with Mafalda as she faces the challenges of being unsighted. Denise Muir’s translation captures the contemporary cadences of Mafalda’s voice. She may live in Italy but she is the reader’s friend here. It is refreshing to meet a protagonist who is blind dealing with the everyday problems without self-pity but with independence and support from the adults around her. We are drawn into her life not just moving around the home or neighbourhood but coping with school and lessons. Mafalda experiences the same emotions young readers will recognise – anger at being bullied, confusion when faced with her first period, her impetuous decisions, sadness and happiness. A refreshing novel to be widely recommended.