Kick the Moon

Product Information

What other books might centre on as main themes, this book sidelines, making them the very fabric that the story is woven from: growing up, racism, sexism, family, friendship, gang violence, mysogyny, masculinity, homophobia, culture, religion, love, sex, and so on. His journey is one many brown teenagers will recognise, and Khan has created a book steeped in drama and empathy, as well as providing two iconic superheroes in the shape of PakCore and Big Bad Waf. This may be a "YA" novel with a teen boy as the main protagonist but I think this middle aged Mum has proved it has a far more universal appeal! I read I Am Thunder last year and loved it so I was really looking forward to reading Kick the Moon and was really excited when I was approved for the arc! Fifteen-year-old Ilyas is under pressure from everyone: GCSE’s are looming and his teachers just won’t let up, his dad wants him to join the family business and his mates don’t care about any of it.

Ilyas’ sister Shaista seemed far too immature to be older than Ilyas, and I found it incredibly disturbing when she chose to blackmail him with a certain video, or that she even recorded it in the first place. I want to see ‘own voices’ characters hailing from all backgrounds as role models for the younger generation.Even though the author notes how he draws on his own experience as a teacher to inform his writing, I would hate to think Stanley Park is an accurate representation of what state schools in Britain – particularly in South London – are like right now. I also loved Kelly, who is a reflection of the rich, privileged school girls and how this privilege gives them an advantage over other students. He takes his inspiration from the children he teaches, as well as his own upbringing as a British-born Pakistani. Watching people tell my cousins that boys don’t cry and essentially teaching that they should not show emotion. They realise that they share lots of common ground and quickly become really good friends - Ilyas has the talents to draw but Kelly helps him hone his character and create some amazing dialogue/backstory.

This book right here is what needs to be read, respresenting gang culture, and heard – defining who you are. I simultaneously don’t like the lads with all the gang bullshit, and see them as victims and recognise how trapped Ilyas is in this whole thing. Many for a younger reader, this would be more up their alley and could gain more from this, but I won’t be rushing to recommend this book to anyone.This book shows how insidious toxic masculinity can be, and I think it’s relatable with the decent kid following behind the popular, troublemaker who makes his friend group feel like dirt. Ilyas is unhappily embroiled in a gang, a group of young men who egg each other on to acts of vandalism and petty crimes within their community, who one-up each other with exploits involving girls, and are all in thrall to their 'leader'. Although they come from completely different backgrounds they manage to bond over their mutual love of stories and realise maybe they have more in common than they think.

It’s a book that deals with many social issues prevalent in today’s society and I felt it handled it really well. Kick the Moon follows fifteen-year old aspiring comic illustrator Ilyas as he approaches his GCSE exams. Ilyas Mian, a British-Pakistani teenager loved superheroes when he was a kid, he loved Superman, he went all out on World Book Day to be him and he knew it was the best costume, but his class mates had other ideas, that being black you can’t be superman and since that day, his dreams were torn away. Thank you to MyKindaBook (Macmillan Children’s Books) for sending me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. Years later, Illyas faces the perils of being in a leading gang, the conflict between what is expected of him and what he should do, what’s right by him and his family and that of DedManz.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Second is Kelly, who is described as a large red-headed girl but her story isn’t about her weight which I loved! A pre-teenage Ilyas, the story's unlikely hero (but only unlikely because we're conditioned to think that way), joins a gang as a way of being protected from bullies, only he finds himself in the hands of another bully. The movie revolves around the two men s rivalry for the affections of a local lady restaurant owner and the fighting of rival gang factions in the small city.

He crushes hard on Jade but after meeting Kelly in a near accident has his head turned as Jade and her girl gang are mean to her.There’s nothing comfortable about the picture he paints o