Kick

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I loved reading about Budi and Johnson creates his world brilliantly- you truly come to inhabit his life, feel his hopes and anxieties and care for him and his family. You want good things for Budi! The book was chosen during the time that the Euro2020 competition was occurring, meaning the children's excitement for the book was heightened due to its link to football. The child-labour described in this story remind us that there are parts of the world where education is a luxury; children have bring in money to support the family. Other stories in similar vein is Boys Without Names set in India and Spilled Water set in China. I would recommend this book in reading lists like Diverse Books or Global Citizenship. This debut comes out this month in September; it is a book primarily for teenagers (though this is fairly compatible with a certain type of adult reader!) and it follows a boy named Budi in who lives in Indonesia with his parents and his paternal grandmother; the family are very poor and they cannot afford to send Budi to school so he works in a factory which makes football boots for professional players. It is focused on ambition; it's focused on following dreams; it's focused on the injustice of a legal system, among many other things. The main focus of the novel is Budi's strong ambition to become a professional footballer and there are disadvantages barring that dream: 1) because of his poverty and therefore that situation being, at first glance, next to impossible and 2) Budi also has a genetically passed down condition which prevents his blood from clotting properly so not only does a cut need to be tended to a lot so as to prevent constant bleeding but also, he could potentially start bleeding internally due to an injury and not be aware of that until he dies suddenly. On the front of the book, it has the quote: "The Only Thing Standing In His Way Is Everything" and that is really symbolised through the telling of this story.

Kick | Usborne | Be Curious Kick | Usborne | Be Curious

Of course, this is not a perfect book, as symbolised by the 3/5 stars. I had two issues with this book, one of which I have already partially highlighted: There are many elements in this book, therefore, that show that message and relate to Budi's story in the meantime. However, towards the end of the book, it really does become so much more than that. I won't be spoiling anything but it does get very intense and very deeply emotional (some very nasty stuff happens!) and then it becomes more a story of morals and making the right decisions in life as oppose to the easy decisions. Those themes, again, I thought were handled really well and just in general, it was a really strong novel. So my brother just started working at the same Waterstones where Mitch Johnson works and, because he loves football nearly as much as Budi, was immediately interested in buying and reading this. He handed it to me to read first though because I'm a faster reader than him and love football just as much, haha. I really enjoyed this book and it's so important. I just hope that Amnesty can continue to work with authors to put out children's fiction covering such important themes as there really aren't many stories out there like this one! Keputusan ada di tanganmu, Budi. Kau harus membuat pilihan.❞ —Hlm. 196 .... ❝Yang harus kau lakukan hanya terus menendang!❞Despite the weighty subject matter the story is not entirely downbeat. As a reader, you are carried through the book by a real compassion for Budi and also the author’s humour, which acts as light-hearted relief in the story and doesn’t distract from the matter in hand. The story also has many intriguing developments which make you want to keep reading. Overall, this was an enjoyable book with merit and once again, thank you to my wonderful librarian for sending me this book. If Mitch Johnson was to publish an adult novel in future, I would buy it! I am 100% sure he has the talent to channel all his great ideas into a more sophisticated genre. But the bottom line is: good, solid book and all the best to the debut novelist! Budi tries to work hard and fast to avoid the rotan the foreman swings. In his family is a strain of haemophilia that makes it hard to stop the blood flowing if he gets hurt. It is an essential read for any boy or girl who dreams of playing football. A necessary lesson for everyone about the realities of football kit manufacturing and the discrepancy between the heroes that make the products and the heroes that get to wear them on the biggest stages around the globe.

kick | mitch johnson kick | mitch johnson

It's a positive read, and while it may not be a 'happy ever after' ending, it does end with hope and the prospect of better tomorrows. I understand why the publishers have done it because they want the book to appeal to the audience which the book is written for. The writing style in this is, most of the time, quite plain: it is very compatible with children between the ages of 12-15 maybe and there is something in the writing style which reminded me a lot of how YA books are written, in general. That cover would very easily appeal to teenagers, especially boys! I do not know what it is like to go hungry, or to work in fear of violence, or to live next door to destitution. I have never set foot inside a sweatshop. I have a feeling this will sound pretentious but I do think this could have been pulled off as an adult novel, as oppose to a teenage novel. To make the book better, I would keep all the plotline and keep all the themes but just make the STYLE of the book a bit more adult! In a way, I admire Mitch Johnson's decision to write a younger book about it but I think it would have been executed just as well, if not better, as an adult novel. Ways of doing that might have been to make the book a bit longer and to make the writing style a bit more literary and just to expand on the themes and story perspective. It worked as the way it came out but I think a more sophisticated genre would have suited it more.

Sesuai labelnya, novel ini memang bagus untuk usia 13+. Bicara tentang mimpi, perjuangan hidup, dan bagaimana pantang menyerah. Ini bagus sekali tentunya untuk anak usia segitu. Dimana mereka baru saja memulai hidupnya dan mulai mengalami masalah. And THEN Budi leaves and, on a complete whim, goes and gives the money to his friend! So not only did Budi miss out on the opportunity to improve life for all his family by getting rid of their poverty, providing a school life for himself and also potentially buying a better house in a better place, but also he completely disrespects all his uncle's efforts to get this money as his final move before his death especially with his nephew in mind. Maybe I'm just selfish and cold-hearted but personally, I think that is a pretty poor way to repay him! The real cover will be different to my proof cover (the proof is just yellow!) but it is the real cover I have a problem with. It's not a bad cover but it makes it look like a children's book. Apart from the quote, there are barely any hints there to do with the themes it discusses in terms of Indonesian poverty and the ridiculous justice system there (this book goes into really great detail on those points!), nor does the cover indicate the genuinely deep emotional story that this book has. For the first time in my twenty-oddth delivery, I feel the need to say that I am glad to be the translator of this book. It had too much more than I expected from a children's book about football, which I have dealt with a lot lately. Equivocal tales of Budi's grandmother, purity of the fellowship between Budi and Rochy, and the passion towards dreams - without which certain people simply cannot exist, speaking from experience. There are plenty to take from the slums of Indonesia for a healty social intelligence development and kudos to Mitch Johnson for providing it with