Rather belatedly I am adding my review of this book. I see that the official review suggests that fans of "Wonder" and "The Little Prince" will enjoy this title, I do agree. Like "Wonder".I think it will only appeal to the younger pupils at secondary schools and probably to girls rather than boys. At times there elements of the story which seem to be autobiographical as the author suffers from the same degenerative eye disease. The important message of the book is about friendship. It also discusses what Mafalda felt she would miss when the "dark" eventually took over. There are a number of mature observations about this - for instance how difficult it will be to look after children and so this gives opportunities for deeper thought about the eye condition. I hope readers would take from the book that they should not take simple things for granted and to "never give up" no matter how hard life appears to be.

Would recommend this for younger readers as it puts how unexpected things can happen in life and how you can overcome it.

If I had been the target age group for this book (middle grade rather than YA) I'm sure I'd have been significantly more charmed by it than but as a cynical and world-weary 40something I found it a little childish and lacking the universality that I enjoy in YA. I found the MC a little tweely naive - her idea to live in the tree seemed a little silly for a child of her age. The issues were there - the MC's incipient sight loss, the friend's parent's divorce, the illness/death of the mentor - but they seemed to serve as superficial plot devices rather than any meaningful exploration. But I loved the Epilogue. The letter from Estelle is extremely touching and for me elevates the whole story albeit coming a little late in the day.

I liked... this? I think, anyway. It was just one of those books which was cute while reading it, but then looking back on it I couldn't really outline what happened, or what the message was. That being said, I was reading an uncorrected proof. I don't know if anything has changed since its publication, but for me, it was just lacking something. The child narrator was a good choice, but it just didn't feel like it was done right. It was quite obviously an adult writing a child, which is not how you ideally want a child narration to come off. I wish I'd loved this.

I grew quite fond of this book in the end. It wasn't childish in a way that would irritate me but it was still able to preserve that innocence and naivety. For a kids book, I'd say it was quite heavy and there's a lot of tough situations mentioned. But then again, the realness and honesty of its content is a credit to the book. I loved the characters and Malfada's perspective was very refreshing.

Overall, I really did enjoy 'The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree'. It's a very unique book that challenges and pushes the boundaries of Children Fiction.

This book sounded exactly like my kind of book and I was keen to finally read it. However, the writing style immediately feels very young and like an adult trying to write a child - it didn't feel like an organic voice, despite how it's based on the author's own experiences. I wasn't sure if this was more down to the translation than the actual writing though, but for me personally, it made the book lag, especially towards the middle.

Mafalda is diagnosed with a rare condition that means she will slowly lose her sight. She's scared and unsure about her future, and she feels that nobody around her is being truly honest with her, but instead, treating her like a baby. She hates having to be walked to and from school instead of walking independently like the other kids. She hates that her parents want to move away from the home she's always lived in, to a strange and alien house nearer school. She hates that people talk about her rather than to her. She starts creating lists of things she can't do and things she wants to be able to, and measures the progressive loss of her own sight by the number of steps she can take away from the cherry tree on the edge of her school's playground before she can't see it anymore. When she begins to navigate the world focused on everything she will lose or be unable to do, this story became quite negative for me, and didn't really recover its positivity. Mafalda's naivety and emotions drive this story, to the point she convinces herself she can live in the cherry tree.

I did enjoy Mafalda's friendships and relationships, especially with Estella and a boy from her class at school. Both those friendships felt much more real and well-developed and added some much-needed depth to the story. Estella's close relationship with Mafalda would probably get her sacked in a UK school though as crossing some professional boundaries. But Estella's parallel journey with her own health was probably one of the most emotional parts of this story, especially at the end. I wish I had more to say about this book, but I honestly haven't come away from this book really remembering much. The tone and mood were wobbly, the writing had some lovely moments but was mostly unremarkable, and the plot felt both too directed from weak memory as well as forced with magical-realism. It left me not really feeling anything, and I think I'll probably forget this book quite quickly, which is a shame.

A beautifully written tale of Mafalda, a young girl who is losing her sight to a rare disease. She measures her deteriorating sight by how far away she can see the cherry tree in her school yard- the same tree where she found her only friend, a cat. The story looks at how Mafalda deals with her decreasing sight and copes with life. A very well done translation.

The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree is the story of young Mafalda who has a condition which has meant at just 10 years old she faces losing her sight.

This story aimed at younger readers and portrays her thoughts and feelings, whilst navigating how she is trying to deal with this massive life changing event and the impact it is having.

This is a brilliant read for all age groups about how life can be unfair and how you can make a list of what your losing or change your focus to what you are still capable of achieving

This is a beautiful heart-wrenching story about a girl slowly losing her sight. The way that Mafalda thought about things, her bond with the stories she read and her friendship with the people around her made up for a beautiful unique voice of a young girl.

The story progresses through Mafalda's life as she slowly loses her eyesight, showing her life in the last six months before her world goes dark. It shows her parents trying to cope with it, moving house, getting everything sorted so that they can provide for her. The friendships she has at school, the long standing one with a janitor who tells her stories of amazon warriors, and new ones beginning to form. There are so many threads to this story that weave together through a young girl's perspective to show a snapshot in her life in such a beautiful way.

Woven through it all this this beautiful character who loves stories and her cat. She's passionate, brave but most of all scared. And it was that fear and how she coped with it, her transition from a sighted world to one without was such an amazing story to read.

A perfect book for someone who wants something short, beautiful and truly moving.

Such a sweet but sad book. This is a wonderful story from the point of view of a child going blind and what she does to cope and how everyone around her acts. A wonderful little book.

The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree - Paola Perretti

This is the semi autobiographical story of Mafalda, a nine year old girl who has recently found out she will soon be blind, this follows her from the moment of her diagnosis, showing the impact this has on her and her family.

Mafalda is a nine-year-old girl who knows one thing: some time in the next six months her sight will fail completely. Can Mafalda find a way through a seemingly dark future and still go to school, play football and look after her beloved cat? With the help of her family, and her friends, Mafalda needs to discover the things that will be important to her when her sight has failed. 

This is a difficult one, on the one hand, it was a quick and easy read because the narrator is only nine, but on the other, reading about a small child's hopes and fears for her future after being told she only has a few months left of sight was difficult.

Mafalda isn't alone in her struggle and there is a wonderful cast of characters that go on this journey with her which gave a warmth to the story, and I think was the most interesting part of the story. Although I think this is a powerful book and Mafalda's narration is very emotional at times, it didn't quite go deep enough for me. It was hard to get through in some places, but it could have delved a little further, I think I'd have liked to have had other points of view so we could see the deeper impact on the rest of her family and her friends. Overall though, this is an enjoyable read and something you can plough through quickly.

What a poignant book! Although I am older than the intended audience I thoroughly enjoyed this and think it should be on school reading lists!

Mafalda is 9 and suffering from a degenerative eye condition that means she will lose her sight completely within the next 6 months. We follow Mafalda as she narrates her thoughts, symptoms and experiences as her life changes. She judges her sight loss by how many steps it takes to get to the cherry tree in the school playground from the point when she sees it on the walk to school. She is frightened of what the future holds with her loss of independence and the fear that she will no longer be able to climb the cherry tree, or play football or look after her cat. But as she becomes friendly with Filipo and the new caretaker in school, she comes to learn what is truly important in life.

This story was told with child friendly language and reflected the thoughts a 9 year old might have when faced with a life changing event, creeping up on them quite rapidly. It was easy to empathise with her and to understand her fears of the changes that were occurring.

I'm much older than the target market here but I was drawn to the cover and title and although I don't usually read YA I am so pleased I did. My son and I have both read now and loved.

I received this lovely book in return for my independent honest review.
This is about Mafalda who is suffering from a degenerative eye disorder causing her to quickly go permanently blind. It is narrated by Mafalda herself as she tracks her journey to blindness. This is beautifully written and thought provoking.
Usually I am not a lover of child narrators as generally their language is not age appropriate. This was spot on. Every stage of her journey, felt like you were going through this with her. She makes a list of what she wants to do before everything 'goes dark'. This was especially emotional.
This book is particularly insightful for others who are losing their sight too.
She has a wonderful friendship with a helper at her school, Estrella who supports her throughout this journey and encourages her to be brave and fight the fears she is experiencing. This was particularly heart warming.
One small nit pick from me is the name of her cat. Ottimo Tucaret goodness what a mouthful. It interrupted the writing flow for me. It didn't spoil my enjoyment of this lovely book, just a minor irritant.
This is an excellent read for people of all ages,it catalogues in a simple way the difficult path to blindness and also for fully sighted people, to appreciate just how precious sight is.

Thank you for the opportunity to read such a beautiful, poignant book.

I enjoyed this very much and will be recommending it to my students as a thought-provoking read.

Such a poignant, moving book that opens up fantastic opportunities to discuss an array of issues with children and how they form friendships and find comfort even in difficult times.

Thank you NetGalley for introducing me to a book that stirred me and made me think again about what’s important.
Mafalda is nine years old. She measures things in steps and is acutely aware of what is around her and what she likes. Why? Because she has Stargadt disease and the little spots in her eyes that form a mist are getting bigger. The doctor has given her six months until she becomes blind and has to live in the dark.
Mafalda is a big character. She has dreams and fierce hopes; some of which will not be achievable. But she sees them as important and has them anyway.
We watch her attempts to make new friends and form some independence at a time when it’s evident she will have few of the things she holds dear.
A book that does not take long to read but it will resonate.

A beautifully told and touching story about something so many of us take for granted - our sight. The author is obviously in full knowledge of what it means for one's sight to deteriorate as she apparently suffers from the disease mentioned. The tale is believably told in the voice of a child - simply - no need to appear brave - but still managing to find pleasure in her life and no self-pity.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Paola Peretti/Bonnier Zaffre for a digital copy of this delightful tale. All opinions expressed are my own.

The story of Mafalda and her cat. This tale is similar to the Little Prince and the Hen Who Wished She Could Fly, if you enjoyed them, you will simply love this book. The characters are phenomenal, I loved every word of this book written from Mafalda' s perspective as she enters the world of darkness. The cherry tree is the main focus of her world as she slowly loses her sight.
A beautiful tale, superbly written with characters that leap of the page. It's a 10/10 from me.