Find out what Mumsnetters' children thought of Do You Speak Chocolate? by Cas Lester

[SorchaMumsnet]

Introducing Do You Speak Chocolate? - Cas Lester's witty and wise novel about growing up and all that comes with it.

Jaz has found the best way to make friends with new girl Nadima, who doesn't speak much English, by offering her a chocolate bar. Nadima grins and offers back some Turkish Delight: the ice is broken and the two form an instant bond.

But the path of true friendship doesn't always run smooth. From a plan to sell Turkish Delight to a fiasco in Charity Challenge Week, Jaz (ever the entrepreneur) seems to be getting everything wrong. Can she find a way to put things right?

We ask all winners to share their child’s thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on Do You Speak Chocolate? by midday, Monday 30 October will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

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This giveaway is sponsored by Piccadilly Press

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My 10 year old DD has finished this book and really enjoyed it. Here is her review: This book is AMAZING!!! I love everything about it. It's like a real friendship. All the breakups, old friends with new friends and (of course) the chocolate. My Favourite thing about this book is how much it relates to me and my friendships. Best book ever!
My 8 year old DD is reading it now and loves it too.

Although the book looks 'girlie' and the main characters are girls, my son is an avid reader and was happy to read this. He seems to be enjoying it so far and it feels like it is really topical at the moment with children being aware of the refugee crises around the world. Friendship issues are always coming up in our household too so relevant on that level also. And chocolate? Well chocolate is always topical! and what a great icebreaker and fab title for the book.

loved the funny bits and shows how easily things can get misunderstood with typos and 'lost in translation.'

Being a massive Jacqueline wilson fan, my son also loved the endorsement on the cover where Jacqueline wilson is quoted saying "I really love this book" - that was enough to make him want to read it!

My DS has not finished reading this book yet as he is slower to read due to dyslexia.

His first thoughts.
It is well written and he liked that the girls were learning to communicate via emoji's. What he likes so far most about the book is that the main character is dyslexic and references famous people with the same condition. This he can relate to.

He is hoping to finish the book this weekend and a full review to follow. I am hoping to read it then.

Following on from my initial review above.
My DS enjoyed this book, although believes that it is more aimed at girls. It has opened his eyes more to the struggle of refugees after hearing Nadima's story which was acted out in a drama lesson at school. He was touched at Nadima's reaction to the fireworks and worried that the upcoming Bonfires night might upset some people.
He asked a question about Nadima's travel to the UK, that she got on a boat (sounds like a flimsy one that we see on the news), and sailed on it to the UK, thinking that they were going to Italy. Really? They sailed all the way to the UK, past Greece, Italy etc in a crap boat? This spoiled the book a little for him. Overall he liked the way Nadima and Jaz bonded, he told me there was recipes in the back too.

Thanks for giving him the opportunity to read this book. I am going to read it next. 4/5 stars.

My granddaughter, eight years old, is enjoying Do You Speak Chocolate by Cas Lester, which we were lucky to receive, thank you. She likes it because she enjoys school and can relate to the characters in the book. She says it has made her laugh a few times and she looks forward to reading it when she comes to visit and I help her out a bit and we both find it thought provoking with the issues raised.

My son (9) really enjoyed this book. He read parts of it himself and I also read some of the chapters to him. He could relate to the school setting and the friendship issues. He felt the cover made the book look very like it was supposed to be only for girls so passed it on to a female cousin after we finished it (like he was a bit too embarrassed by the cover to keep it) I think the way the book handled the subject of the refugee crisis was mostly very well done, especially the way the communication issues played out at school, although I would agree that the notion of a dingy sailing all the way to the UK was problematic as does not reflect reality and it might have made more sense to say the family were placed in the UK from a refugee camp nearer to Syria. We loved the recipe section at the end, what a great idea. Overall we felt the book was great and the serious subject issues like making friends with people from other cultures, dyslexia, acceptance, friendship were all dealt with very well and age appropriately. The character of Jaz was very believable and relatable. The voice of Jaz was engaging and the author managed to keep the story moving at a good pace which kept DS enthralled. We really enjoyed reading this book and talking together about the themes which it raised.

Thanks for our copy of the book. Here is the feedback from my daughter (9):

'The Do You Speak Chocolate book was amazing, because it had humour and it was just amazing! Jaz never gives up, even though she sometimes finds things hard because she has Dyslexia. Jaz and Nadima have arguments but they always get back together again. You can just imagine scenes like that happening in real life. There is a recipe for Tuna Pasta Bake at the back that sounds really tasty. It has short chapters that make it easy to read. I can't explain how much I loved the book!'

I read this book with a 10 year old and we both enjoyed it. The characters are believable, interesting and relatable. The subject matter ticks many diversity boxes - immigration/refugees, dyslexia, culture differences, relationships etc with sympathy and practicality. Thank you for the free copy which I will pass on to our local primary school.

Many thanks to Mumsnet / Piccadilly Press for a copy of this book.

From just the book title and cover, it's not difficult to guess the target audience - younger female readers, probably around 8-14 years old. However, both genders will identify with the difficulties the two central characters face, and the way they overcome their respective challenges.
The story follows Jaz, a headstrong Year 7 pupil who often finds herself isolated from her friendship group, and who often lets her dyslexia frustrate herself further. Jaz feels she’s lost her best friend Lily to Kara, a girl in her class who doesn’t seem to like her too much – and the feeling is mutual. But when a new girl named Nadima arrives at her school, Jaz has someone to sit next to again. Nadima doesn’t speak much English. However, with a little chocolate to break the ice, an instant bond develops between the two girls. And when Jaz learns about the heartbreaking experiences Nadima and her family have gone through, she is determined to be a good friend. However, Jaz’s headstrong nature inadvertently leads Nadima into trouble. And although they are able to put the incident behind them, Jaz does something else that threatens to destroy what they had. Can she fix it? Or has she lost another best friend?

The book does well with the child-friendly insight into the traumatic experiences that refugees go through. As the story rolls to a conclusion, Chapter 49 depicts a heartbreaking drama presentation of ‘Nadima’s Story’ that the two central characters deliver. This is extremely poignant as we know thousands of people have gone through, and are still going through, similar experiences in war-torn countries around the world. Stories like this are great at breaking barriers and raising awareness, and readers who have gone through something similar to Jaz will resonate with the character’s experiences (i.e. welcoming children from another country who are new to their school; Jaz’s struggles with coping with dyslexia; not having a father around; etc.) Additionally, readers will relate to the angst and anxiety associated with growing up, with fitting in, with teen/pre-teen tantrums, and the challenges of negotiating the perils and pitfalls of school life. There are a few improbable scenarios, but overall, the book is good read.

Thank you for choosing us. This is the review from my 10 year old son;

' I liked it as it was sad and funny. I felt I understood the characters. I would definitely recommend it especially for older children'

My DD really enjoyed the book. She very much got into the story line. She liked the fact that the characters were from different back grounds but still were best friends.

She found it funny and heart warming that they used emojis and treats to communicate.

Her only critique was the book was too short and that it should have been longer!

Man thanks.

Engaging story which was very easy read & gave lots to think about but at times felt very idealised & simplistic.

The main character Jaz is dyslexic, has 3 older brothers & is being brought up by a single mum who has them all contributing beautifully & without any moaning to the weekly cooking & other chores.

It was interesting to see Jaz's strategies to get things done despite her dyslexia & her frequent comments about famous dyslexic people who made it big. Not sure how realistic her character is to someone who is actually dyslexic though.

Jaz has a pretty big personality - can't imagine any 12 yr old girl
persuading her 3 big brothers to wear skirts rather than trousers to prove the point.

The people in Jaz's class sound pretty idealised & tolerant despite their ignorance of other cultures. There are only the slightest nuances of exclusion & lack of sensitivity on their part.

Not sure that others coming from a foreign country would feel included that quickly especially just coming into a Yr 7 class part-way through the year amid different warring friendship groups.

Having said that, both dd & I thought the story did show some ideas for how people could overcome language and cultural barriers & learn to empathise with people from different backgrounds.

Thanks for all your feedback on Do You Speak Chocolate? - sounds like it proved a topical, relatable read!

Congratulations to @katb1973 who has won a £100 voucher :)

Many apologies for not giving feedback. dd2 has spent the last few weeks in hospital having some serious surgery and has been very unwell. I was hoping she could read the book as part of her recovery but unfortunately she's not been up to it.