To sum up, it's really an interesting book and a tear-jerker strangely, for one so politically relevant. But a warning - it might annoy some American readers with a lot of unfamiliar words and different accents. These words are also unfamiliar to a lot of British people not living in that area but there are so many accents and dialects in the UK - English is a less homogenous language than in the US maybe - that it doesn't really annoy anyone. The book is especially recommended to those who haven't forgotten the way the police and judiciary treated the murder of Damilola Taylor, whom this book is obviously about, may the little boy RIP. One day, while Miquita is straightening Lydia’s hair, she burns Lydia’s cheek on purpose, asking, “Are you with us or against us?” Lydia assures her she is with them. After school, X-Fire and Dizzy chase Harri and threaten to kill him, but they eventually walk away. Miquita is Lydia's friend from Dance Club and Killa's girlfriend. As investigations into the dead boy's murder heat up, Miquita becomes progressively more violent; she burns Lydia's face with a flattening iron, physically assaults Chanelle, and sexually molests Harri. Dean An 11 year old refugee from Ghana moves to a poor neighbourhood in London UK and lives his life with his mother and sister while Dad and baby sister remain in Ghana. Agnes has a fever, and Harri worries that she is going to die. When her fever goes away, Mamma and Lydia both cry with happiness. Auntie Sonia and her abusive boyfriend Julius buy presents for Lydia and Harri. As a birthday surprise for his sister, Harri takes Lydia to some wet cement, where they both leave footprints and write their names. While Dean and Harri are playing football, Dean finds a wallet, inside of which is a photo of the dead boy smiling with a white girl. The boys discover that the photo has blood on it.

Terry Takeaway is an ex-army alcoholic and known thief who lives in Harri's neighborhood. Terry Takeaway owns an unusually friendly pit bull, Asbo, and protects Harri and Dean from the Dell Farm Crew. Julius Eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku, the second best runner in Year 7, races through his new life in England with his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat around him.

About Stephen Kelman

Pigeon English is a book to fall in love with: a funny book, a true book, a shattering book' The Times Elsewhere, Kelman blends Ghanaian slang such as "Asweh" ("I swear") and "hutious" ("frightening") with familiar London-ese to fresher and funnier effect. When the boys watch a local dog choke on some lager offered by its alcoholic owner: "Every sneeze made a new sneeze. Even Asbo was surprised. He couldn't stop for donkey hours." That is the situation of Harrison “Harri” Opoku, the 11-y/o Ghanaian boy who goes to live in a housing settlement in London together with his mother and elder sister, Lydia. Due to poverty, they have to leave Ghana where his father, grandmother and a newborn baby, Agnes remain. One day, Harri sees a dead body of a classmate who has been murdered. He and his friend, Dean, decide to find out who the killer is because of the gift prizes that will be given to anybody who can provide clue to the killing. The letters are all slanted on these bits. We learned at school they are called 'italics'. I think maybe they come from Italy. These bits are stupid. Everyone agrees. It's like the pigeon is a guardian angel, or a messenger from God. Asweh, it's the craziest thing you ever saw! Harri loves science, birds, and running in the rain. He has many friends, a "special pigeon" who watches over him, and a girlfriend, Poppy Morgan. Harri lives surrounded by violence and discrimination, but he often overlooks danger. He and his friend Dean investigate the murder of a Year 11 boy and have several run-ins with the Dell Farm Crew. At the end of the text, Harri's former friend, Jordan, stabs and kills Harri. The Dead Boy

Harri begins investigating the dead boy's murder because he feels an inexplicable connection with the murdered teen. Though they never spoke, Harri knew the dead boy by sight and observed his talents, like playing basketball and riding "his bike with no hands." Harri defines his relationship with the dead boy by calling him a friend, "even if he didn't know about it." By calling the dead boy a "friend," Harri indicates that he identifies with the boy; he hoped to be like the dead boy, and the latter's death leads him to understand that anyone can suffer senseless violence. Harri struggles to understand why he feels loss and trauma over the boy's murder even though they were not close. Eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku, the second best runner in Year 7, races through his new life in England with his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat around him. Newly-arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister Lydia, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of city life, from the bewildering array of Haribo sweets, to the frightening, fascinating gang of older boys from his school. But his life is changed forever when one of his friends is murdered. As the victim's nearly new football boots hang in tribute on railings behind fluorescent tape and a police appeal draws only silence, Harri decides to act, unwittingly endangering the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to keep them safe.

Sharks never sleep. They have to keep swimming or they’ll die so they’re not allowed to sleep at all, not even for one second. Harri, June Lydia’s friend Miquita comes over and claims that it was the dead boy’s own fault for getting killed because he shouldn’t have been “fronting.” Harri tells her that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Later, Harri asks his friend Dean if he thinks Miquita is right.

Newly arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister Lydia, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of city life, from the bewildering array of Haribo sweets, to the frightening, fascinating gang of older boys from his school. But his life is changed forever when one of his friends is murdered. When a boy is murdered outside a fast food restaurant, Harri and his CSI-obsessed friend Dean take it upon themselves to investigate the crime themselves. However in an estate which is run by the Dell Farm Crew and where the police can't be trusted, Harri's innocent investigations lead him into dangerous territory with devastating consequences. Someone has scratched the word DEAD onto Harri’s family’s front door. Later, the Dell Farm Crew approach Harri and Dean and try to rob them. Harri is carrying the wallet with the dead boy’s picture inside, and when the Dell Farm Crew grabs the wallet, the picture drops to the floor. Killa is visibly upset, and X-Fire burns the picture with a lighter. Just as X-Fire reaches for his knife and is about to pounce on Dean and Harri, Lydia shouts, and the three of them escape to the library together. Lydia explains that she filmed the whole scene, including X-Fire burning the picture. In England Harri makes a lot of friends. I liked them. I wish the book was about them. He also has a pigeon. He rescued it, and then he sees it all the time. Sometimes the pigeon talks to him. Harri is the first person narrator for most parts except for those that are spoken by the pigeon that visits him on their flat located on the 9th floor. While I admired the purity and ebullience of Harri’s narration, I was amazed on how Kelman handled the parts of the narrative by the pigeon especially those with open and close quotes. Kelman’s approach is fresh and inventive, playful and spontaneous. The pigeon has its own voice that provides contrast to that of Harri’s.

Someone sets the local playground on fire, but firemen arrive and put the fire out. On the last day of school, Harri watches with delight as the Year 11 kids celebrate their newfound freedom. He and Poppy hold hands, and she kisses him. Harri runs home, shouting his love for Poppy, the pigeons, and the trees. When Harri is almost home, a boy jumps out and stabs him. I don't want to sound coldhearted, yes, the story is a sad one. And the ending is even sadder. But that didn't really help me to enjoy reading this book. At all. Jordan is Harri's best friend outside of school. After he is expelled from school, Jordan steals for the Dell Farm Crew in exchange for cigarettes and protection, starting the young boy down a path of juvenile delinquency. Jordan frequently brags about his criminal behavior and pushes Harri to join him in breaking bottles and throwing stones at buses. Eventually, Jordan stabs Harri, killing him. Lydia

Asweh, it was very funny reading this book. But it was also very sad. It took donkey years for me to get through the first half of the book; the pidgin-Londonese sounded dey touch to me. And the story was heavy in my hands. He and his friends come upon a crime scene where an older teen boy is stabbed to death and the remainder of the book very loosely and sloppily becomes a bit of a comedic drama about his thinking processes, amateur sleuthing and his world views. This young boy is a fast runner, full of mischief, sweet, imaginative and very funny. This story is somewhat interesting but often repetitive and too loosey goosey. Telling its story is 11-year-old Harrison Opuku, who has recently arrived in London with his mother and his sister, Lydia; his father, grandmother and baby sister remain in Ghana, trying to get together the money to join the rest of the family. Installed on the ninth floor of Copenhagen House, in the midst of a far from salubrious council estate, they get their bearings and begin to settle in. From Autumn 2015, Stephen Kelman's deeply funny, moving idiosyncratic and unforgettable novel will be an AQA GCSE English Literature set text. About This Edition ISBN: In this quotation, Harri tries to justify his desire to join the Dell Farm Crew by speculating that he could serve as a missionary for them. Though Harri doesn't want to commit crimes, his stated reason for wanting to join the gang is insincere. Throughout the text, Harri states that if he joins the Dell Farm crew, he will be "the big fish" and "all the little fish would be scared," protecting him from abuse. Thus, Harri convinces himself that if he teaches the Dell Farm Crew about God, he can benefit from their protection while maintaining his morals.

LoveReading4Kids Says

X-Fire (pronounced "Cross Fire") is the ostensible leader of the Dell Farm Crew. X-Fire has a ferocious pit bull and recruits young children, like Harri and Jordan, into his crew by assigning them dangerous and illegal initiation "missions." X-Fire compels Lydia to destroy evidence and threatens Harri repeatedly. Auntie Sonia