Norah's Ark - Victoria Williamson - ★★★★.¼
RATING: 4.25 stars.
In a Nutshell: A sweet little middle-grade novel about two animal-loving friends who, through their personal struggles, learn to empathise and support, and along the way, rescue some animals as well. Loved its wholesomeness!
Story Synopsis:
Eleven-year-old Norah does her best to ensure that she isn’t taken away from her father and sent to foster care. The two of them live in temporary accommodation and take assistance from food banks. However, this doesn’t stop Norah from lending a helping hand to any animal in need.
Eleven-year-old Adam has lived a sheltered life ever since he was diagnosed with leukaemia. Though he is now in remission, he isn’t allowed out of the house, nor can he do anything deemed “risky”.
The two kids bump into each other over a nest of orphaned baby robins. Initially apprehensive of each other, they soon realise that they have plenty in common, despite their drastically opposite circumstances.
The story comes to us in the alternating first-person perspectives of Norah and Adam.
Bookish Yays:
😍 What adorable lead characters! Both Norah and Adam are vulnerable enough to make me want to give them a tight hug and say, ‘Don’t worry. Everything will be fine soon.’ At the same time, they don’t allow circumstances to defeat them. I rooted for the duo throughout the book. Norah especially won my heart. Many of her circumstances reminded me of the father-son duo in Will Smith’s ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, and I felt equally emotional reading about Norah and her dad.
😍 Despite the contrasting situations of the kids, their friendship is strong and based on a genuine connection and understanding than on flimsy reasons such as popularity or wanting to fit in. Their behaviour highlights many important values of friendship such as being there for each other in times of need or lending a listening ear when required. They make mistakes as well, but these are learning opportunities for them as well as for the readers.
😍 The two children's love for animals is clear throughout the book, and courtesy their fondness for rescuing animals in need, we get to see many animals throughout the story. Bingo was my favourite, though Lady came pretty close.
😍 The title must have reminded you of Noah’s ark. This book takes some elements from Noah’s story and gives it a wonderful, contemporary spin. I loved how the author wove the biblical story into this novel without referring to Noah even once and without making the story feel like a typical retelling. So if you know the original, you’ll see the commonalities. If you don’t know the original, no harm done; you can read this as a standalone without any gap in comprehension.
😍 The book covers plenty of hard-hitting themes such as homelessness, poverty & unemployment, bullying, health issues (through Adam’s cancer), and climate change. But even beyond these, it highlights some pragmatic problems that kids face: the pressure of keeping parents happy with their behaviour/actions, the trouble of balancing what they want vis-à-vis what their parents want from them, the problem of making yourself heard in a new school,… It also shows how presumptive we can be about both rich people and poor people, how we judge based on appearances, and how the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. So many opportunities for productive discussions here!
😍 The learnings aren’t limited to kids. The book also indicates issues in parental behaviour through common mistakes such as hiding secrets to safeguard the kids emotionally, being too overprotective (especially after a health scare), not communicating enough, not listening to what the kids have to say,… This middle-grade book has plenty of thought-provoking content for adults as well, especially on the importance of maintaining open communication with their kids.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
😐 Through Norah’s perspective, we get to see some of the troubles the homeless and the unemployed face in the UK (the story being set in Hull), and the inadequacy of the bureaucracy in handling issues related to housing allotment, job allotment, and foster care. I applaud the author for tackling what are usually considered adult topics, in an MG work. These ills are a part of society, and children must be aware of them at least to some extent so that they can be more empathetic of others. At the same time, I also feel that some of the content might be too much for younger MGs to process independently. Moreover, there’s mention of betting dens, gambling, alcoholism, and post-partum depression, which would also be better suited to a slightly older age range.
😐 While I liked the happy ending (I strongly believe that all MG books must have satisfying endings - don't leave kids crying!), I felt like this book smoothened out things too much. For such a realistic story, having every single element in perfect alignment at the end felt farfetched. I would have loved the ending better if it were more hopeful than fully resolved.
Bookish Nays:
😟 This is the first time I have read a middle-grade novel with two first-person perspectives. Though the situations of the two kids are different, their voices sound somewhat similar, creating minor confusion at times about who is the “I” speaking. I’d have preferred both perspectives in third person, especially considering the age group it is aimed at.
All in all, this is a great book for older middle-graders and even those above this age range. There are a few nerve-wracking scenes, but the issues are resolved happily. At the same time, some of the content may be a bit too severe for sensitive readers. It’s not as light-hearted as typical middle-grade fiction is. I would still consider this a must-read story with realistic issues, but with the topics being overwhelming at times, do proceed with care, parents/teachers/guardians.
Definitely recommended. This isn’t my first book by Victoria Williamson, and it won’t be the last!
Content warnings: poverty, hunger, homelessness, bullying, cancer (though this is in the past and there’s no hospitalisation or emergency), parental death, animal death (A pet spider counts as an animal, right?), mention of betting dens and gambling, mention of alcoholism and post-partum depression.
My thanks to TheWriteReads, Neem Tree Press, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of “Norah's Ark” and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
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Author Victoria Williamson:
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.
Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.
Her latest novel, Norah's Ark, is a middle grade novel focussing on friendship and climate change. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book will be donated to the UK homelessness charity, ‘Shelter’.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website.
Connect with her on:
Her website: www.strangelymagical.com Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/strangelymagic
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This has been a stop on the #NorahsArk blog tour conducted by TheWriteReads (@The_WriteReads). Thanks for stopping by!
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