From the past, the most saddest thing ever is that when her mother couldn't look after Kerry and her brother, anymore, they went into separate care.

When I started this book, it was clear from the beginning that I will not be rushing through it. I wanted to cling onto every single word and really take in the message Gayle put out into the world. It took me two weeks to digest this story and I really recommend taking your time when reading this book. I don’t think I’d survived nor appreciated this story half as much as did had I sped through it. Anyway, here he was at twelve, and now his adoptive so-called parents were adopting another child, a baby boy from Kazakhstan. He figured he knew why they were adopting again: They weren’t satisfied with him. Whenever he thought that, he felt tears welling up. He didn’t know if he was upset for himself, because they weren’t satisfied with him, or for the baby, because if the baby was up for adoption, it meant the mother had abandoned him, and Jaden knew what that was like. It just wasn't it for me. The first part annoyed me. I don't avoid sad/ challenging books but I felt this one sprung it on me and honestly, I just felt uncomfortable. I power-read the second half to get it over with. However, I can't lie, it totally got me. Not only did I find this book relatable in many ways, I found the characters endearing and I found myself really invested in their lives - which was also helped by the writing and the setting, as it really transported me into the story. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of Half A World Away in return for an honest review.One pinballs from placement to placement before finally growing up in a care home. A rough start in life, a need to fend for herself and eventually, a determination to ‘make good’. Kerry lives a humble but happy life as the single mother of her son, Kian, in a west London council estate, working hard as a cleaner. Illustrations are perfect and set the mood for the book. Great story line. This will be a perfect book for children to relate to.

What I particularly liked was how Gayle didn’t choose to make the narrative fluffy. There were so many opportunities for him to make it a story with a happy ending, but he chose to keep it real and I appreciate it so much. It took me a while to warm up to Kerry and Noah and the rest of the crew, but once I did it felt like they were part of my own family. Personally I think it’s a skill to be able to write a cast of characters that become so dear to the reader.Amy and Louie are best friends and do everything together. Amy moves across the world and they miss each other. Louie calls Amy with their special call, and Amy has a dream about it. Steve and Penni met eyes again. Penni turned all the way around. “Jaden, it’s just that Steve read an article saying the baby seat should be in the middle. Okay?”

This is the story of Kerry and Noah, two siblings separated when they were taken from their mother in early childhood. There were six children in the family. I was number three and there wasn't a lot of money. We didn't have television and of course there was no such thing as a computer. I really enjoyed reading this book, and felt that I could relate quite well to the characters, as we have members of our family who have been adopted. I chose to read this book for one of the picture books published in 2006. It is a very sweet story about two best friends who live half a world away from each other after one of them has had to move. They have a special call they would use together and even though they are far apart, they can see each other in their dreams at night. This is the first book I have ever read or listened to by Mike Gayle and immediately upon finishing it I used up my Audible credits and bought The Man I Think I Know and All The Lonely People.He mostly wanted to invent anything related to electricity. Atoms were in constant motion, even when you were asleep. When you died, your personal electricity kind of turned off. And yet everything on the earth held constantly moving atoms. So even if your personal electricity died, your body still had a system of vibrations. Jaden hadn’t figured it all out yet, but he would someday—he’d promised himself that. This is a great book to read if you’re talking about moving, as well as talking about friendships. You can take some time to look for magical creatures in clouds, like Amy and Louis did, or use cotton wool to create your own cloud creatures. You can use maps to look at some of the wonderful places in the world where people live or, if you’re feeling arty, create neutral art works with just a little bit of colour. Half a World Away follows the heartbreaking story of two siblings, Kerry and Noah, who are taken into care and live very different lives. I really liked this incredibly moving story and although tremendously sad, the author knows how to convey very powerful emotions without depressing the reader. I loved Kerry and Noah/Jason, in fact all the characters were exceedingly well developed and a pleasure to engage with.