A lot of nostalgia, for me, is tied into my formative memories of Kuwait, but it feels so distant now that it’s almost like I made it up. Whenever I discuss my early childhood, I realise it was very different to the one a lot of my peers have had. This young globular cluster can be seen from the southern hemisphere, in the Dorado constellation, which is Portugese for dolphinfish. Usually, globular clusters contain stars which are born at the same time; however, NGC 1805 is unusual as it appears to host two different populations of stars with ages millions of years apart. Observing such clusters of stars can help astronomers understand how stars evolve, and what factors determine whether they end their lives as white dwarfs, or explode as supernovae. Mum’s good at talking to people, being a lawyer. She knows exactly what to say at all times. I’m different. I only know how to express myself in video games. Instead of words, I use spells and incantations. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson, Ross Welford and Kiran Millwood-Hargrave. About This Edition ISBN:

A Pocketful Of Stars – The Branford Boase Award and Interview A Pocketful Of Stars – The Branford Boase Award and

There is also a time limit, so try to collect all the beautiful stars before it runs out. However, you can add to your time and continue the adventure. Once you've obtained five hundred points, your time will be extended by twenty seconds. Keep collections to yourself or inspire other shoppers! Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections - they may also appear in recommendations and other places. Ahhhhh I just finished this book, and I am in tears, but it was an absolutely perfect ending. This whole book is so full of heart and magic. Safiya is a 14-year-old girl in London, obsessed with her favorite video game (an imagined one that sounds really fabulous!), splitting her time between her two loving divorced parents and trying to figure out the shifting rules of her relationship with her best friend as well as her increasingly fraught relationship with her mum. They used to have so much fun together, but now they're always at loggerheads and don't seem able to understand each other at all...

Cheeky,’ Mum says, taking a sip of her coffee. ‘Anyway, what about you, Elle, what do you think we should count?’ Aisha was selected as one of only four previously unpublished authors in the Stripes anthology for BAME writers, A Change is Gonna Come, alongside writers such as Patrice Lawrence, Tanya Byrne and Nikesh Shukla. The anthology was awarded a YA Book Prize Special Achievement Award. Since then she has been taking part in panels, interviews and events across the UK, from Bristol Waterstones to Manchester Academy, Birmingham Literature Festival to Southbank YALW, BBC Radio 3 to Buzzfeed. Safyia's mother has a stroke and is in a coma. Safyia feels like it's her fault because the last time she saw her mother they argued. On one of her visits to the hospital, Safyia falls asleep by her mum's bed and something strange happens and she feels as if she has been transported to her mum's birthplace in Kuwait. I can’t help but laugh. Mum’s games don’t always make sense, because her brain works in mysterious ways. Safyia lives with her father as her parents are divorced. Safyia is at that pre-teen stage where everything is changing and friendships can be tested as well as her relationship with her mother.

A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby - Goodreads

A beautifully told, outstanding and thought-provoking novel.Themes of race and the treatment of Aboriginal peoples interweave with those of grief and letting go, but without ever becoming overbearing, with the focus on the town's mystery. Elle’s like a chameleon, she always knows what to say. She changes personalities depending on who she’s around and can talk to just about anyone, like Mum. I’m just a plain old lizard, darting into the corner of every room I enter. It’s Mum’s turn to laugh. ‘ Rapunzel isn’t about hair!’ she says. ‘I’ve never heard something so ridiculous. It’s about freedom, and independence, and exploring the world.’ Now, when it comes to my opinion about this book, then I must say that it was really very moving as well as heartfelt. I loved the way the author portrayed the character of the protagonist, Sofiya. It was gracious and deeply described.

This book was so much more than I ever thought it would be. I enjoyed every second of it, despite it ripping my heart in half. As both a mother and a daughter this story rang so familiar to me. It takes a common situation between a parent and child and gives it a unique life. The blurring of the fantasy world and the real world is done wonderfully. It's able to convey the desperate feelings of Safiya in a way that is both effective and hopeful. Safiya and her mum have never seen eye to eye. Her mum doesn’t understand Safiya’s love of gaming and Safiya doesn’t think they have anything in common. As Safiya struggles to fit in at school she wonders if her mum wishes she was more like her confident best friend Elle. But then her mum falls into a coma and, when Safiya waits by her bedside, she finds herself in a strange and magical world that looks a bit like one of her games. And there’s a rebellious teenage girl, with a secret, who looks suspiciously familiar . . . I’ve recently started doing macrame, and I’ve been obsessively making plant hangers and tapestries. I spent a few hours the other day working on a tapestry, and by the end of it, I had managed to develop a rather crucial strand to my second book. Plotting, for me, happens when I’m doing other things. If I actively think about my story for too long, I rarely come up with anything good. anyways this is a really beautiful book about family and friendship and growing up and saying goodbye and also dealing with grief and loss. I think I wanted to be a writer before I really knew myself that I did. It was just something I said I would do. I remember declaring, when I was younger, that I was going to write fantasy novels when I grew up. It was during the time I first discovered Harry Potter and Eragon.

Pocketful of Stars - Etsy UK Pocketful of Stars - Etsy UK

I follow Elle obediently, just as I followed her on the second day of primary school. She decided we were going to be a snake, right in the middle of the playground. Elle, of course, was the snake’s head. I was behind her, hands on her shoulders. I felt silly and embarrassed at the time. Everyone was going to laugh at us, I was sure. But Elle was confident. She hissed and ran and giggled, and soon half of the playground joined us. Elle at the front, me following right behind. And that’s how it’s been ever since. Aisha’s writing is bursting with spirit and heart – she writes passionately and evocatively and completely inhabits the worlds she writes about, which in turn means that as a reader we become equally immersed in her worlds and characters. What I found appealing in this book were how many ways the teens were creative – as illustrators, writers, game players and makeup artists. Having a form of creative output helps them bond as well as being a constructive pastime. How much do engage in being creative in other ways and how do you let off creative steam in other forms? Now I tend to follow authors much more closely than I did. My favourite MG author at the moment is Katherine Rundell; I always look forward to her next publication. I am also really excited to keep on reading Anna James’ and Cat Doyle’s books. The evocation of memory from perfume, the vivid colours, sights and sounds of Kuwait were incredibly vivid. This is a story of senses – from the lush food at Eid to the silk mermaid outfit. What experiences were you drawing from here?OK, fine.’ I think for a moment. ‘How about we count the number of times the cast says hair?’ I suggest. ‘Isn’t that what the story is about?’ When the play starts,’ Mum says, ‘count the number of times the cast say Rapunzel’s name. Apparently they say it seven times in the first seven minutes!’ She pauses, looking between me and my best friend Elle. We glance at each other and frown. ‘Seven!’ Mum repeats, like this should mean something to us. ‘The witching number?’ She looks disappointed. ‘Oh, never mind.’