Kick

Product Information

Budi tells us that Rochy is the cleverest person he knows but that he had to withdraw from school because he needed to work to support his family. and there is the suggestion that the two sisters are involved with the sex industry, although younger readers will not pick this up.

This is a fast-paced story about big dreams, bravery and fighting for justice up until the final whistle.First, although a good novel for football fans, which also gives a honest insight into child labour, I wouldn't recommend this book for under 10 year old. I have only read one Frank Cottrell Boyce and that was Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth which I read for the Carnegie reviewing (and it was one of the very few Carnegie books which I actually enjoyed! Whilst I wasn't blown away with what he could do with the writing, what he could do with the story was far more important to me and he nailed that on the head.

Tapi ternyata salah besar, aku mengakui kelihaian penulis memunculkan konflik-konflik baru dan menyelesaikannya satu persatu. 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. 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. One of his jobs is sewing, hence the sewn writing on the cover for the word KICK and the sewn thread design through the book at the opening of chapters. How can his grandmother afford to chain smoke, when the family don't eat dinner on Friday night because they don't have enough money?

Maybe I'm just selfish and cold-hearted but personally, I think that is a pretty poor way to repay him! 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! The trouble with being a dreamer is that occasionally you’ll have nightmares – you’ve just got to make sure they don’t ever spook you enough to want to wake up. They have the posters on the walls, they can name all the players, they worship their favourite player and they never miss a game. 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.

Budi perceives the task as impossible and is ready to accept his fate, even to die, but then miraculously, the boots get to the Dragon. There is also an earthquake in which Budi’s Grandma dies and Rochy’s mother and sisters go missing and are presumed dead. Overall, this was an enjoyable book with merit and once again, thank you to my wonderful librarian for sending me this book.The reality of child labour will astonish many young readers, as will the existence that youngsters in other countries face.

The first-half of the story sets the scene whilst the second-half picks up the pace with the Dragon getting more involved and the story comes to a thrilling end making the story a good read. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Budi and his grandmother - a chain-smoking, housebound character - who provides wonderful stories to teach her grandson some important lessons in life. 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.It might be a children's book but it pulls no punches in its description of the way too many children still have to live in our world today. 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! He knows that one day he will get the opportunity to go the watch his heroes play, and possibly play alongside them.