Four year old Jesika lives with her mum and her baby brother Toby in very poor conditions. There is very little money for food and other basics. The book is told through the eyes of Jesika which made the book different, seeing how she perceived things. Later in the book it does have sensitive material that may trigger some readers. Had I known it was in there I may not have read the book, I am glad I didnt't know as I would have missed out on a brilliant book.

Five stars from me for this one and I can't wait to read more books from this author.

I loved this novel. It's so hard for novelists to get it right when writing in the voice of a child however Amanda Berriman does this wonderfully. It's an absolutely heartbreaking but fantastic novel.

An incredible and honest story that many readers will relate to. This book tells the story of a struggling family and how simply children see the world. A great read that any reader will find impossible to put down

I found this book absolutely stunning. Narrated by four year o,d Jesika, its quite heart wrenching. An emotional read but truly worth it.

This should be a thoroughly depressing read, but it is saved from being so by Jesika, the four-year-old narrator.
It isn’t easy to successfully write from a child’s point of view once you’re an adult, but Jesika feels really authentic. Her misconceptions and misunderstandings really make you realise how confusing the things adults say can be, and you long for the grown-ups in her life to listen to her properly, to slow down and to realise that she’s confused and worried and scared.
Jesika’s love for her mum and brother is beautifully portrayed, and her visceral fear of being left is one of the strengths of the story. And while, as adults, readers understand what is going on completely, Jesika’s confusion adds to the tension and drama – there’s an almost physical reaction, wanting to protect Jesika and poor little Paige.
This is a timely portrayal too of the frustrations and stupidities involved in accessing services, particularly for the most vulnerable. Someone should be helping Jesika and her mum – they shouldn’t be in a mouldy, dangerous flat, at the mercy of an unscrupulous private landlord. It’s a damning portrayal of the times we live in.
Hard to read at times, but definitely one to read, I can’t say I ‘enjoyed’ this, but Jesika will stay with me for a long time.

I raced through this. I just couldn't put it down. I fell absolutely in love with Jesika!! Thanks for the ARC.

Jesika is four. She's bright, she notices things, and she's learning about the world. This is her story, told by her, but it's also a story about her mum, who's struggling to deal with chronic poverty, really inappropriate housing, and bringing up two small children on her own.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Jesika, and her view of the world - the grown-ups who say one thing and mean another, the injustices you face when you are four, and the dangers.

There is danger out there. There are monsters disguised as humans. Bad things can happen. It's really hard to know who to trust, but at the end of the day, Jesika is learning to trust herself and her own instincts.

I liked the fact that Jesika has the normal preoccupations of a four year old - who gets to do the puzzle? how much telly can I watch? - and the events in the adult world are filtered through her eyes. We know what's going on, even when she doesn't. It was one of those books where I really wanted to break in and shake a few people. There's a lot of stuff in here that I know about - the effects of the bedroom tax, unscrupulous landlords - and to see the effects of these on an individual family was very powerful. Jesika's level of understanding was maintained throughout - I managed to sink into it completely.

It reminded me a little bit of The Room, which has to be a good thing. That child's view is powerful - children haven't developed quite as many filters as adults. You can tell this writer understands small children well.

Jesika is four and a half. She lives in a flat with her little brother, Toby, and her mum, who is struggling to make ends meet. Jesika struggles to understand everything that’s going on, and has to deal with a lot when her mum and Toby get ill. All she knows is that she loves her mummy and doesn’t want to live anywhere but with her.

Home is a very special book. It is written entirely from Jesika’s point of view, which is brilliantly done. Her thoughts and feelings are entirely realistic and it’s really easy to understand why she reacts to things the way she does. The writing really feels like it’s coming from the mouth of a 4-year-old. I loved the touch of misspelled words to enhance the experience of reading from a child’s perspective.

I loved Jesika’s personality. She is a sweet and brave little girl, and impossible not to love. At times, it was kind of frustrating to read because, being so young, Jesika doesn’t understand everything that’s happening and doesn’t tell the adults. She comes so close a few times and I was practically yelling out at the book when she forgot or got too scared. I can’t remember the last time I was so emotionally invested in a story.

Trigger warning: this is a very emotional story and one thread involves child sexual abuse, but it isn’t graphic or descriptive and, though upsetting, I didn’t find it too difficult to read.

Home is completely addictive and fantastically well written. Quite possibly the best book I’ve read this year.

A new favourite author.
I was bowled over by this book; the debut novel by a talented author.
Narrated by four-year-old Jesika, I could totally imagine her voice, and her child-like take on events was so endearing.
She and her mother live in substandard housing, in a poor neighbourhood, but Jesika loves her baby brother Toby and knows she, in turn, is loved by both him and her mother. Her father has returned to his native Poland and they are left to manage alone in a big city.

Jesika enjoys her playschool and is happy to reach out to a new little girl who joins and appears to be very shy. Paige, however, has some dark secrets that she doesn't even understand herself and my heart went out to the two children as they tacked the issue of secrets being bad and something to be shared with loving adults. It highlighted just how complicated an issue this all is.

Although this book tackled some sensitive subjects, it was done tastefully and sympathetically.
I loved how Jesika and her mother began to settle into the community and find friends among other residents. Everyone needs friends and adults are no exception.

Highly recommended.

I started off enjoying the book written in the voice of a 4 year old but it then kept changing half way through a chapter to an adult voice. I found the story very difficult to engage with,

Do you know that moment when you realise a book hasn't just grabbed you but it's also took your emotions, ripped them apart, rolled them around in muck then handed them back with a smirk and a tissue? No? Well read this book and you'll find out. Honestly it had me in tears on the commute home....not my finest moment but that's how it affected me.

Home is narrated by four year old Jesika. Through her post toddler eyes we view a world of crippling poverty, cruelty and sadness....and somehow that world seems quite a positive place when looked at with her mindset. She may not have the material things we often assume kids want but she does have her mummy and little brother Toby to play with and cuddle and for Jesika this is the most important thing. But when she meets Paige, a girl at her preschool, she sees another world....one with DVDs, trips to cafes and houses that aren't covered in mould or with stairwells littered with needles...but also one with painful secrets.

Perhaps having a daughter not so much older than Jesika made this such an emotional read for me....it had me laughing and crying, sometimes both at the same time because the voice of Jesika was so authentic, and so utterly believable, with all the strange little foibles and misunderstandings I've seen in my own little girl and her friends. I had to remind myself that Jesika, Paige and Toby weren't real....that the pervading sense of dread under her innocent ramblings were just another plot device. But here's the thing. There are thousands of kids like that, probably many on my own doorstep and I felt a sense of "There but for the grace of God". It brought home the truly important things to a child....a loving family, attention, a roof over their head and a full belly. I got home and forgot my usual "must get this done" frame of mind and did an easy tea then played some games with my little girl. This book will stay with me a very long time and I cannot put into words how much I would recommend it. It's just a wonderful book. Read it!

Gritty and realistic but heartwarming nonetheless. Amanda Berriman has really captured the perspective of 4 year old Jesika in a very engaging and slightly enraging story.

I loved reading this book. Written from the child’s point of view in her own words. Very moving story. I felt I was the child and the story line was happening to me. Very moving book.

Oh Jesika, Jesika, Jesika. How I want to dive into the words and grab you and cuddle and kiss you. I defy anyone not to love this adorable four-and-a-half-year-old little treasure.

I couldn’t quite fathom how an adult could get into the mind of a child so young and use her voice to tell her story, but, by golly, she didn’t half do it well. You fall in love with Jesika right from the start: she has you in a vice-like grip from the beginning and within a very short time, you’re thinking, I don’t want this book to end.

Jesika lives with her mummy and baby brother Toby in a hovel of a flat: the epitome of housing rented out by a scumbag. It’s damp, it’s cold, the bath has a crack in it, so you can’t fill it too high and the boiler pilot light keeps going out. But it’s home to Jesika. She loves preschool and very much wants to be friends with Paige. Such poignant innocence and blessed naivete. It’s all very adorable so far. About a third of the way into the story, you suddenly realise there are some red flags…and you hope beyond hope it’s not all going the way you dread. But Jesika has you hopelessly smitten by now. You’re besotted with her, and all the people in her little life, whom she loves.

It’s quite an exhausting read: Jesika doesn’t speak in commas and full stops. Four-and-a-half-year-olds don't. She can speak for quite a long time without drawing breath. But don't let this fool you into thinking that the novel isn't an adult one. It is.

I saw this author on Davina McCall’s programme, This Year Next Year: Berriman’s pledge was to have her first book published twelve months after her first appearance on the programme. And she did it. Successfully, brilliantly. This is without doubt my book of 2018.

It's an interest idea, if not completely unprecedented, to have a young child narrate a book of this nature. I don't like to read blurbs and reviews before I read a book as I don't want to have any preconceptions that may cloud my judgement and enjoyment, so I started reading this book without knowing it would be narrated by a child. That being said, it was a nice surprise. One of my all time favourite books is Guepiot by Villamont, also narrated by a young girl as she navigates a tumultuous childhood. I could not help and compare the two girls, and as cute and interesting as Jesika is, I'm not sure I'll reread her story as many times as I reread the other one. Not because it wasn't good. It was, and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the topics the story raises or the style of narration. But I have to be honest - at times Jesika's story felt a bit inauthentic. The author tried and succeeded most times throughout the book to write from a 4 year old's point of view, and echoed the feelings of reliance, confusion, honesty, and wonder that one would expect from a child. Jesika overhearing bits and things she didn't quite understand and her being easily distracted were also utilised in a powerful way to reveal things to the readers yet keep them want to read on for more. However, the ending of the book felt rushed, and the conversation on the bus felt a bit of telling instead of showing, like wanting to get it over with. Also, I don't think Lorna's gift is very realistic, but it made for a good story. All in all, I enjoyed the book, despite its difficult subject material and I would definitely recommend it to others. I'm also looking forward to see if the author has any new publications.

I was so excited hearing about this book and I couldn’t wait to start reading it. It is similar in style to ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime’ and ‘The Room’ (books I loved!) in that it has un unreliable narrator in the form of 4-year old Jesika. Through her eyes, we are told a story of modern day poverty, family relationships, friendship and something else, darker and disturbing. Even if this last aspect of the story made my skin crawl at times, there were also many moments when I smiled to myself looking at the world with Jesika’s eyes.

Overall a nice execution of a tricky nature.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for an ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair and impartial review.

The more I read, the more I was compelled to continue. This was a thought provoking story of a single mother trying to negotiate a problematic, poverty stricken life with two young children in tow. Told from the point of view of her eldest, pre-school child, Jesika, we learn how her loving, but exhausted mother despairs whilst trying to provide a happy, healthy life for her children despite the challenges she faces. Almost as quickly as life starts to improve, when Jesika makes a new friend, her mother becomes ill and things take a sinister turn for the worse. This is when you realise how vulnerable the family is. The storyline could so easily have taken a different route which makes it all the more compelling. The child speak of the narration from Jesika gives an interesting perspective which I enjoyed. I can see how it may be irritating to others though. This book highlighted how important a safe, secure and loving home is and how easily it can be taken for granted.

This started as a bit of an annoying read, due to the ‘child voice’ narrating it—it wasn’t so easy for me to get into it. Jesika is a difficult narrator to contend with, in that, on top of being unreliable because she sees the world through her own filters, those filters are very much naïve and different from an adult’s. The way she perceives and interprets events wasn’t always easy to follow, and the fact that the words she used weren’t necessarily the right ones didn’t help. However, after the first couple of chapters, I got used to her voice, and I didn’t notice its ‘quirks’ anymore, or at least not in a way that disrupted my reading. Which was, of course, a good thing.

The story itself deals with difficult themes, too, that aren’t completely visible at first due to the aforementioned filters. But don’t mistake those for callousness: because Jesika seems ‘remote’, this actually makes events more… raw, in a way, in the absence of adult filtering. The reader soon gets to realise the issues Jesika’s family is facing: poverty… but not enough to really get help; having to contend with shady people; illness, probably due to their dire living conditions; and, of course, what comes later, once Jesika meets Paige and starts to wonder if what’s happening at her home is normal or naughty, and if she should tell her mother Tina, and won’t her mother stop loving her if she does that? (And that’s the biggest fear for her child: being rejected by their parents…)

Although the novel never veers into sordid (I don’t want to say that Jesika’s narration revealed Paige’s secret in a ‘cute’ way, because it’s not cute, it’s never cute, it’s creepy AF and no child, well actually no one, should ever have to go through that—but it did soften the blows in a certain way), it wasn’t exactly an easy read. Jesika and Paige are both so very young and vulnerable, all the more when one remembers that getting through the regular babble of children at such a young age can be exhausting, and doesn’t leave much room for actually listening, really listening to them when they try to convey something serious. I did enjoy the grown-ups’ reactions around Jesika, though, since they did take things seriously. There was a particular moment, for instance, when Tina could’ve done the coward thing, could’ve chosen to ignore the signals, because acknowledging them sort of put her at risk, too. There are so many stories, so many happening in real life, too, when unfortunately people close their eyes on the obvious and choose the easy way out.

At the same time, the circumstances Jesika, her mother and her baby brother have to face aren’t all in shades of black only. There are people around who’re ready to help them, and once Tina manages to get past her pride and accept those outstretched hands, she realises that friendship and trust are things you can find even when everything looks bleak. There could have been darker consequences, and in fact, it’s good there weren’t, considering the story’s themes are already dark enough as it is.

Conclusion: 3.5 / 4 stars.

I really struggled with this book. From the point of view of a 4 year old, at first I thought that it would be interesting, but I found Jesika just annoyed me. I realise that I'm very much in the minority and that many others have loved the book, but this just isn't for me. I did not finish it..

I would probably give this book 3 1/2 stars but since no half options, have gone with three. Found it slightly annoying that in some parts of the book, there were obvious spelling mistakes to reflect the age of the 3yr old narrator when a 3yr old would never actually be writing a diary so felt there was no need for this. It did get better towards the end but things progressed a bit slower than I would have liked. Touched on some interesting subject matter...