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Interviews

Amanda Berriman on creating Jesika

Amanda Berriman

Powerfully brings home the fears of living life on the edge...a narrative rich in intimacy and immediacy...Berriman is a former primary school teacher, and her acute awareness of the child’s world, as well as the spot-on grinding details of poverty make this book wholly, painfully authentic...challenging but always compelling; for the entirety of the second half, I was desperate to rescue Jesika and her family. 
 Comparisons to Room by Emma Donoghue are inevitable; however, while Room is a novel about one sick individual robbing a family of hope and dignity, Home tells the far more terrifying story of inequality in our society..

Packs a huge emotional punch…heartbreaking ... Jesika is entirely engaging, sweet, emphatic and cross as she tries to interpret the grisliness of the grown-up world.

I read this in one sitting and am still crying. Tina and Jesika are heroes. A brave, important, heart-breaking book

Amanda Berriman's Home kept me up late for all the right reasons. It's a tender portrait of a family in crisis that nevertheless grips like a thriller, a chronicle of extraordinary events that never slides into sensationalism. I loved Jesika - the girl through whose eyes the story is told - and her mother, who in remarkable times also faces the unremarkable challenges of motherhood we can all identify with.

Shelley Harris, author of VIGILANTE and JUBILEE

‘Home’ is an extraordinary achievement. Jesika is utterly unique yet it also feels like there is a chorus of children’s voices behind her, telling their story too. It’s an important story to hear. A must-read from an exceptional new writer. 
Totally compelling. I read this behind my fingers and couldn’t put it down until I knew if Jesika was safe or not. An important reminder about what the world looks like from a child’s perspective. 
 
I’m not sure I breathed while reading this. Jesika jumps off the page and into your heart. She will stay with me forever.

Tor Udall, author of A THOUSAND PAPER BIRDS

Jesika is so real and unforgettable … An extraordinary book.

There’s nothing more heart-stopping than a child in danger. Mandy Berriman skilfully takes you by the hand into some bleak territory, all too common for many of today’s children. A need-to-read novel.

HOME is an incredibly brave novel that never shies away from the harsh realities of poverty.

Written in the style of Emma Donoghue's Room this is a sensitive and thought-provoking novel. It's told through the innocent eyes of four-year-old Jesika, who lives below the poverty line in a small flat, with her mother Tina. But when Jesika befriends Paige, she is told a troubling secret that could destroy this already struggling family forever.

It's a challenge not to become completely engrossed

[A] thought-provoking novel about a section of society that's so easily overlooked

A sensitive novel ... told through the innocent lens of four-year-old Jesika. It's a challenge to not become completely engrossed and concerned for her family's wellbeing.

Amanda Berriman's heart-wrenching tale of a family on the edge

Jesika is four and a half. She lives in a flat with her mother and baby brother and she knows a lot. 
 
She knows their flat is high up and the stairs are smelly. She knows she should not draw on the wall where the wallpaper is peeling or touch the broken window. And she knows she loves her mummy and Toby. 
 
She does not know that their landlord is threatening to evict them and that Toby’s cough is going to get much worse. Or that Lauren, her new best friend, has a secret that will explode their world.

Amanda Berriman

Articles featuring Amanda Berriman

Amanda Berriman on creating Jesika

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