Another Deaf Experience: By Eleanor

My friend and I went to Odeon Cinema in Norwich just a few days ago to watch the new Hangover III. We arrived with plenty of time as we wanted to get some food before watching the film. I suggested that we buy the tickets before eating, saves time and there wasn’t much of a queue this early.

 We went up to the young man to purchase the tickets. Unfortunately he was completely unaware of deaf awareness!

 I asked him for two tickets for the subtitled performance of The Hangover III. He looked at his computer for a few seconds until I said ‘I think it’s the quarter to 7 one’. He looked up and then looked again at his computer and said ‘Do you mean the quarter past 7 showing?’ I said, ‘We want the subtitled one, if that’s the one then yes’. He said ‘Ohh, you want the captioned one sorry’ and looked at a piece of paper to check what time it was on. He then said ‘Ah yes 6.45 sorry.’ I handed over my CEA card and he tried to ask me a question, it was really hard to understand him, his lips barely moved and youthful hair growth spurts on his face (or what you might call a beard) made it hard work. He must have noticed me squinting my eyes as if to concentrate so he tried to ask my friend the question as well. I could tell by her face she felt the same as me, so I said ‘Sorry she’s deaf she can’t hear you’. He apologised (constantly, and politely) and did try to repeat it again but I just said all the answers to questions I thought he might be asking for example ‘I don’t mind where we sit, just the two tickets please’. Whether I gave the right answer or whether he gave up, I’m not quite sure! He then said £9 (NOTE: £9 for a single ticket!!) which I repeated to my friend. She handed over the money and he finally gave us the tickets (whilst apologising once again).

Perhaps he didn’t hear me either at the beginning. Perhaps I wasn’t very clear. Maybe just the three of us are all shy, withdrawn people who don’t normally like to ask to repeat things.
 It made me feel better in a way, to know that I shouldn’t feel stupid in situations like that. It is difficult when you’re trying to ask for something but you’re too scared of the responses. I’ve often got my hearing friends to pay for things for me, or order my drinks/food etc because I’m just too scared that I’ll be asked a question that I can’t hear. But why should that stop me? Why should I be ‘babysat’ (even though I’m the oldest of my friends!) because of communication breakdown, not even that, just fear of communication breakdown?

My friend and I then went to Wetherspoon’s to eat. I went up to the bar to order our food (I know, check me out!) which seemed easy enough, in pubs it is almost expected that you might not be able to hear so well and it’s actually rather normal to say ‘WHHAAAT?’
 The food came to the table and the waiter said ‘Two Chicken Melts?’ My friend said ‘Oh that was quick’ (Although I heard it as a ‘No thanks’ so I’m 50% sure the waiter heard the same thing). He said ‘Oh’ and walked away with our food. My friend was mortified, I said not to worry, it’s just food!!

 I got the attention of another waitress and explained the situation and she said ‘oh OK I’ll go grab it for you’ and brought our food out.

All it takes is a little communication, explanation and understanding. I guess you just have to be brave enough to put yourself out there… or I’d still be sat in Wetherspoons starving by now!!

Thank-you to you, from us.

Hi Everyone!

Imz: We wanted to write a post saying thank-you to you all for viewing our page! We've got a massive response, and have had over 2,000 page views since we've started up at the end of January! We are totally gobsmacked that so many of you take the time to have a read and respond.
We wanted to let you know that we appreciate everyone reading our posts and for commenting - it makes us feel good when we know people are reading them. It means a lot to us!

Elz: Thank you from me too, this blog has been a great way to give you guys an insight into our two favourite things: films and ranting about deaf access! :)
 We always love to hear back from you guys too, so keep the comments coming and generally just keep reading :) x

Pitch Perfect - A Film Review by Imogene

Pitch Perfect

Directed: Jason Moore

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Adam Devine, Elizabeth Banks

Genre: Comedy, Music, Romance

Stars: 4/5

(Spoilers!)

My friend really wanted to see this movie in the cinema, but we couldn’t find a time that was suitable for us both to go and see it. So as soon as it was available on DVD, she went and brought it pretty much straight away.

I was looking forward to watching this film as the trailer seemed hilarious and it’s got one of my favourite new actresses, Rebel Wilson (plays Fat Amy). She’s a star that has seemed to come from no-where to being one of the funniest and well- known quite quick. So, on a whole the film was brought to life by her.

The film is about a college student Beca, (Anna Kendrick) who moves to Barten University. She has no interest in following tradition or making friendship groups when first appearing at the Uni, all she wants to do is DJ. Her father who also works at the University doesn’t approve of her wanting to become a ‘DJ’ and want her to throw herself into the world of being a normal teenager. Beca fails to attend lesson so her father comes and makes a deal, where she has to join a club at the Uni. She promises she will make an effort, as he says he will help her with her dream of moving to LA to make music if she does, still want to move after a year. She agrees.

Beca takes on an internship at the local radio station, where she meets Jesse, (Skylar Astin) another student at the University.

We see Beca look round stalls looking for a club to join, she looks at a table which says DJ – which meant ‘Deaf Jews’ safe to say she was disappointed as she wanted to do some DJing! On one of the stalls there are two ladies who are desperate for singers in their group – and we see them literally giving flyers to everyone. Beca takes a look, but she doesn’t have much interest for singing (even though she could and they desperately wanted her!).

(Fat Amy introducing herself)

I found this part of the movie really funny because we get to see Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) introduce herself. She really lifted the film in the comedy sections that she’s in. I enjoyed the film very much as it was easy watching and even though there weren’t as many funny scenes as I thought there would be, it was still very entertaining. All the characters in their own way added to the comedy factor. There were many funny members that joined the group, one girl who was obsessed with sex and another who was a lesbian, and we see her try and attempt to grab the lady parts throughout the film in a bid to ‘protect them’, a quiet one who’s voice sounded like a normal persons whisper and a few others.

Due to the promise she made to her dad, Beca reluctantly joins the Barden Bellas. In the beginning of the film we see clips of the Barden Bellas the year before and they weren’t successful in competition against the Treblemakers (another singing group at the same University).

The group doesn’t get off to a good start as the leader of Barden Bellas, Chloe (Brittany Snow) is very controlling over the songs, layout and dance moves, which start to annoy all members of the group, but especially Beca. There are very strict rules for the ladies as they’re not allowed to mix with the Treblemakers as it threatens the competition and anyone found doing so, lose their place in the group. Beca doesn't abide by the rules as she has an on-going friendship with Jesse which whom she works with, outside the University. The only problem is Jesse joins the Treblemakers – so their friendship in the eyes of the singing leaders is unspeakable. We figure out very early on that Jesse has a crush on Beca, and it blossoms throughout their time together. Beca tells Jesse that she doesn’t enjoy films, who himself is a massive fan – so he takes it on himself to show her exactly how much fun a film is. He shows her ‘The Breakfast Club’ which she finds is the first film she hasn’t slept her way through!

I found Jesse’s and Beca’s friendship really sweet because they both care about each other a lot but they know they shouldn’t.  It was obvious in the start that they’d both fall for one another. The genre suggests that this will naturally happen, as in Romantic Comedy – they always do. But however, it’s always nice to see them intertwine!

They do their rehearsals up until the regional competition and surprisingly even with their tiresome set list of songs they manage to make second after the Treblemakes, this saves them a spot in semi-finals. After the show, Beca gets in a fight and is arrested by police. Jesse calls her father so that she can get released and is angry with Jesse for interfering, which affects their friendship.

At the semi-finals, the group start out doing the same routine, different song charade and Beca notices that the audience is getting bored, so she starts putting some backing music behind the lyrics and the audience start enjoying it more. Aubrey didn’t agree and it all leads to a huge argument over Beca trying “to ruin” the Barden Bellas. Beca tries to explain through the film that they need to liven the set up, but Aubrey won’t hear it. They come third in the competition, meaning they loose out. After a complication from another group the Footnotes, they have been banished from the competition, resulting in the Barden Bellas being able to take their place. After the argument Beca says she quit the group, only to leave them in a muddle. The Bellas continue rehearsing for the finals whilst Beca starts working on the radio overnight and starts distancing herself from the Bella Members and Jesse. After finding a copy of the Breakfast Club, we see Beca feeling sad and lonely, she realises that she misses them all.

It’s nice to see that Beca has realised that she has some attachments to the people around her. Proving she wasn’t the same girl who was more than happy being on her own at the start of the film and she also notices her feelings towards Jesse. It was all very ‘the wake up call before everyone kisses, makes up and lives happily ever after’ but it’s a little of what you expect! (It’s terribly predictable, but every now and then, we all like a comfortable film!)

After being convinced by her father to rejoin the Bellas, she walks in to see the rehearsals falling apart and proposes that they call and open up about themselves. A hilarious part of the film, where we see each of the characters personality. It’s a group of mismatches, yet all bond well over their love of music and performing! We find out that Fat Amy’s name is actually Fat Patricia, which was pretty funny. Several members of the group gave a personal confession to the group, which helped solved their differences. After Beca telling them her ideas the group appoint her as their group leader. She helped changed pretty much everything about the Barden Bellas – giving it the modern lift it needed to win the Nationals.

(The Bellas at National Finals)

At the A Cappella National competition, the Bellas start with there usual routine, only to break out into a new song and set, which helped them change their reputation and win the Nationals! After the set we see Jesse and Beca make up, sealed with a kiss. (At long last!)

We see a 6 month later, where members of the Bellas and Treblemakers are in auditions with new students for their groups, where the Bellas have their trophy sitting behind them.

I did enjoy this film as it was easy to listen to, and even though it had a high school musical/glee feeling to it, it was pretty decent! I was slightly disappointed by the lack of comedy laughs there was, but despite that it did end up being a good film. I’d watch it again, and if there happens to be a sequel, I shall watch that too (as it’s not right to watch one and not the others!). I liked the fact I knew a lot of the songs in the film, which helped it flow. However, it was pretty predictable and we all knew as soon as it started pretty much that Jesse and Beca would get together. It wasn’t particularly new or original, but enjoyed it non-the-less. Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson stole the show with their amazing work! It’s a 4/5 for all the reasons in the last paragraph!

Contagion: A Film Review by Imogene

Contagion

Directed: Steven Soderberg

Starring: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Ehle, Elliot Gould

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Stars: 4.8/5

(Spoilers!)

I remember when this film was first released, I was desperate to see it in the cinema, and however I never did. It somehow got lost in my mind over the years between all the new releases probably.
I noticed how many big names that were in the film from first reading about it – and from most of my experience of films, that’s usually when it’s a pretty decent film to watch!

I couldn’t wait to start this film as I knew I’d enjoy it, and I knew that I would end up doing a review on it. It’s completely my type of movie, I like suspense and the wondering of what happens and I find that I can easily put myself in others shoes so with this film, I felt comfortable. It captured my attention from the first words spoken, not because I’ve been desperate to see it, but because it was so interesting! There was always something happening and so much information gathering to be done! There simply wasn’t time to be bored, well, for me that is.

The film starts with a woman named Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow) who has been away on a business trip (also had sex with her Ex) comes home feeling ill with a mysterious illness which she thinks is the flu. She passed the illness onto her son when she hugged him, after returning home and he then catches the illness too. Beth dies after a seizure in front of her husband and son. Whilst her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) is at the hospital with her, trying to come to terms with her sudden death, their son dies that same afternoon. The doctors are baffled with this mysterious illness.

We then see a variety of people fall down with the same symptoms and also die. Beth’s Ex also falls down with the same illness, which also results in his death. The doctors offer Mitch the chance to have his wife examined through an autopsy to see if they could explain the sudden death – We see the doctors being shocked through the examination whilst looking at her brain, ordering a team member to contact “everyone”.

They take Mitch into quarantine due to worry that he may have the disease and could possibly pass it onto others. We find out that he is somehow immune to the virus.

The film is very good at this point as I got drawn into the symptoms of the illness and I wanted to know more. The film does have a touch of the “Fringe” and “CSI” feel to it, and personally is a massive fan of both tv shows. I also wanted to know the seriousness of the illness, how many people would be affected and if they’d be able to stop it.

Through the most part of the film we saw many doctors try and determined what the disease was. The biggest part was trying to determine the source of the outbreak, and how to defeat it by finding a cure.

It all felt very realistic and how you’d imagine the Health services would deal with this type of situation. It was consistent all through the film which was great for keeping you interested, it was the perfect pace.

Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) was brought in to determine how deadly the disease is going to be on the population and by every means find an antidote, by Dr. Ellis Cheever. (Laurence Fishburne) She gives a briefing of her knowledge; that the disease was contagious through touch and that they need to work out the rate of people that are carriers and the numbers of who can potentially get infected. The numbers keep rising through the film.

Allan (Jude Law) a blogger journalist comes in contact with the story and has his own conspiracies about the disease and lets everyone knows about them. He believes the government is keeping hold of the cure to make a profit out of the tragedy.

In the background there is doctors working on the cure and testing on live cultures to see if they can make a vaccine. Dr. Sussman (Elliot Gould) makes a stable version of the cultures, which means they can start doing trials for the vaccine. The government says that it could be months before the vaccine could be ready. They call the disease MEV-1.

Meanwhile there are doctors working on the source of the outbreak and find footing of the whereabouts of Beth. We see her in a casino with various people playing at a table. She blows on someone’s chip for luck. We start to understand how the disease spread from Beth throughout the casino and they link to the handful of people that died in the beginning of the film. We see Allan infected with the disease, as he blogs live from his computer and see that he is taking medication called “Forsyitha” and tells the audience that if he is still alive in the morning then, the medication works.

Dr. Erin falls ill with the disease and contacts Dr. Cheever that she has it. He feels responsible for Erin falling ill as he sent her to find out about it, he then proceeds to call his wife and tell her to come to where he is. Aubrey (Cheevers’ Wife) leaves the county and goes shopping for supplies, to be contacted by a friend asking why she’s late for dinner – only to tell the true reason behind her sudden departure.

Allens’ blog becomes a sensation and everyone is desperate to get hold of the medication. We see the world turn into a frenzy and start looting and rioting, the streets become empty. Everyday lives have stopped as people are scared and stay inside, hiding from the disease.

The animal trials are under going but nothing has succeeded, until monkey #57 is successful. There is finally a cure and is currently being produced and is announced that it shall be ready in roughly 90 days. The death toll is currently at a 26 million figure.

It was a relief when they found a cure as we see that the world is in a panic, and just knowing that it could happen to us at any point. The film was done really well and made you think about the important things in life, knowing that people get ill and die every day, obviously the scale was much bigger, but that’s what makes it such a gripping film. It had the "end of the world" feeling.

Allen tells his viewers not to take the medication and someone tells him out to the police and gets arrested. It gets found out that he never had the virus and made it up to get noticed. He has persuaded all his followers against taking the vaccine which could save their lives. He was going to be charged with fraud only to get released on bail, due to the response of his viewers.

Dr. Cheevers get told there's going to be a investigation into the leaking of a message from inside the offices. He told his wife what really happened, and her friend leaked it out, which started the panic.
Meanwhile, as there isn’t enough of the cure made up to heal everyone, there is a lottery of dates where the people in which the birthdays have fallen on the ball, can have the vaccination.
From that moment on, we see everything slowly go back to normal. The death rates have slowed down (obviously people died of other things than the disease) and the world gets back to the state where it once was. Allen continues blogging about his conspiracies on the government, which we know have no ground after his lie on the medication and having the illness in the first place.

We then find out the source of the disease which happens to be Beths' company does a construction where some trees are getting cut down, which makes bats fly from their home, the infected bat bites a banana, flies over to a farmers hut where he drops a piece of the banana skin, which a pig eats, the pig gets killed and taken to the restaurant at the casino where the chef touches the pig with bare hands. He then has the disease on his hands and poses in a picture with Beth, then transferring the disease onto her.

I really enjoyed the loop up at the end, it made it clear where it started and it made sense for us. It did make me wonder where the bat got the disease from though. There’s always a place. I loved everything about this film, the pace, storyline and characters, but mainly the tension that was felt during the film. It was very well played by all the actors and actresses, they made us think and connect to them.

It’s a film I’d definitely watch again, and I think also with the ending, you’d see more about it and understand maybe the language in which they spoke “professionally” as doctors to one another. It was a fantastic film and has become one of my favourites! I highly recommend it!

Why hearing-aids can be cool: Eleanor

Lately I've been lucky enough to find different ways to change my hearing aids around, improving my confidence and making me feel good!

 The first group I joined was 'Pimp My Hearing Aid' which can be found on facebook by typing 'Pimp my Hearing Aid' or at: http://pimpmyhearingaids.wordpress.com/ .
 This inspired me to start putting nail foils on my HAs, at the moment I have some pretty cool gold ones with black tiger stripes on. It's definitely attracted attention - people always tell me how nice they look! :)

 The second group/business I found was: http://silverbirchcrafts.co.uk . This is run by Sarah Smith who is a very talented young woman! She makes customised items and my favourite so far has been the Hearing Aid pouches, especially designed to fit your hearing aids to carry around, maybe when you're out swimming or in the shower etc. She's even designed a wristlet which will keep the pouch on you - perfect for a trip to Alton Towers and you're worried about your hearing aids falling out!!

 The final group I've literally just found is the: Hearing Aid Headband. You can find them on Facebook or at: http://www.hearingaidheadbands.co.uk . They make headbands which have pouches for the HAs to fit in - great for little ones and they make adults sizes too!


 Check them out and feel your confidence grow :)

Why I enjoy studying BSL: Eleanor

 Although I am deaf, I was brought up orally. From the very beginning my dad was insistent that I wouldn’t be given ‘labels’, that I was perfectly able to speak like pretty much everyone we knew.

As I grew up, I didn’t know any different. My world was surrounded by hearing people and I’d never met any people like me, or Deaf/deaf.

It wasn’t until I became a teenager that I had an eye opening experience. I went to a summer school with the NDCS for 2 weeks and it quite literally changed me. I met people who could sign fluently but couldn’t communicate orally. At first it scared me, I had problems of my own with communicating so how could I communicate with them? I met other people who were similar to me, brought up orally and relied heavily on lipreading. These were the ones that I straight away connected with, the similar toil and troubles of studying at school and explaining that hearing aids aren’t a cure, just an aid. I made lots of friends at this summer school and have the fondest memories of those two weeks. The unforgettable experience of the summer school has set the bar with my volunteering at NDCS, I want each child to go home feeling how I felt, and with their heads held high.

After attending summer school I realised I wanted to learn to sign, I wanted to connect with these people and communicate, find out their thoughts and hopefully become friends. We all have a voice, just some are louder than others. With help from my ToD (Teacher of the Deaf) and various mock classes that some of her other students and parents were invited too, we were all taught basic sign language. That wasn’t enough for me, I wanted more. My mum and I then signed up for BSL Level 1 when I was still a teenager.

 I really enjoyed BSL Level 1. Mainly because I was like a sponge at that age and took BSL like a duck to water. I never needed to practise, it was more my mum that worried about the assessments etc. and used me to practise on. When it finished I was determined to carry on but my mum decided not to.

 

 I signed up for Level 2, but when it came down to it, I was still that shy withdrawn girl in the corner, how could I even pretend that I belonged to the deaf world when all I knew was ABCs and various basic signs? I retreated and decided not to go to the classes. This, I know now, was a big mistake and I regret not attending. However the following year it made me more determined and I signed up for it again, (it was now called the pre-level 2 qualification). I forced myself to go to the first class and it was scary because there were only 6-7 of us, all girls (apart from the tutor, lucky man!) and they all knew each other. It was extremely intimidating, they had all been on the course that previous year and the signs were still fresh in their minds. It took a lot of willpower to stay for that class, many times I wanted to run away. It was still difficult because at pre-level 2 there are still lots of students talking rather than signing, especially when you can’t think of the signs for what you really want to say. I missed out, even in a BSL class!! At times it made me angry and confused, I couldn’t seem to fit in with the hearing world anymore, not with this knowledge that there were people like me out there! But I couldn’t find the comfort, support and knowledge that I needed to fit in.

After a few classes I started to become more confident, comfortable. I knew more signs than some of the others and once they realised that I was deaf myself they began helping me out with conversations that I’d missed. Or at least trying to, with our limited BSL vocabulary! Towards the end I started enjoying myself and made friends. I’m still in touch with one of them which is really nice J

The next level was difficult. I live in Kings Lynn area and there were no classes in the area for Level 2. I now had to travel to Norwich for the nearest class (about 35-40 miles away) for 18:30, not finishing until 21:00. It was difficult to fit in with my college studies but I was determined and motivated now, I wanted to be able to communicate with BSL users more than anything, I was still volunteering for the NDCS and sometimes the WNDA (West Norfolk Deaf Association) which really spurred me on, I wanted to see this thing all the way through!

On Level 2, I was extremely lucky to meet one of my now close friends. When we first met we instantly got on, many people asked if we already knew each other and were surprised when we said no. She was also deaf, in a similar position to me and we got on like a house on fire. Of course we had our little girly giggles in the middle of classes though!

I’m now on pre-level 3 at the moment and I love it. When we get there our voices are turned off and our hands warmed up. Everyone is so keen to sign and learn new signs too. In our group conversations quite often someone will start signing about something and there’s at least one blank face. You are then bombarded with other signers who understood what was said and keen to explain, hopefully in a clearer way for you to interpret. Everyone is so warm and understanding of my needs. Even if there is a funny noise outside someone will instantly sign to me what’s happened and I no longer feel stupid for asking. It’s probably one of the only places in the world where I feel right at home.

It's always the big things that makes the little things difficult. by Imogene.

Hi Everyone!
Sorry for the lack of posting - it's been a while, but I promise I personally have a couple of posts to provide you with this week.

So, I have been getting bugged to get a new phone for ages now, simply because mine is a newer version of a brick phone (it honestly might as well) but I always pride myself with saying "I don't need a new one.. It provides everything I need, to ring people and text" however, I realise I sound like a Granny rather than a 22 year old - I should have a hi-tech phone really.. and I probably do need to stay in touch with the online world more, rather than casually getting the laptop out, if and when I fancy it! So I went browsing for a new mobile. It's so much fun, looking at all the ones you can get - but at the same time not understanding a word of what it's going on about! So, being me, I pick the one I like the look of :-P
A Nokia Lumia! I have always liked the look of these on the adverts, I only want a small contract so I find one suitable - it won't cost no more than my usual pay as you go, so it's worth a try. I order my plan online and get excited to see it arrive.
The next morning I get a phonecall from the phone company and narrowly missed it! (I actually ran down the stairs!) So, I rang back to be answered by a deep voiced man with a heavy accent - I can't actually tell you what one because I found it so difficult to even hear him let alone pick that up too! So as a typical deaf person I say "erm.. sorry?" "pardon?... sorry can you say that again?" "I'm sorry but I can't understand you.." and various other statements which i'm sure we've all used or imagine you would!
Unfortunately my husband had gone to work and wouldn't be back for another 8 hours.. and somehow I doubt that I'd be on the line THAT long, regardless of whether I can understand the man or not. But I genuinely really struggled, especially when he said that he needed me to give an answer to the question! I wasn't aware that I was answering questions!? So I asked him to start again and spell out the answers that I had to pick from the list.. but I had no success because I couldn't even understand the question! He repeated it again and I heard the word catalogue and 2012.. but I simply couldn't answer it.
Therefore because I answered it "wrong" even though I couldn't actually understand it.. he cancelled my application. I was so gutted, especially after when I realised that I could've asked for another person to take the call. It was just so frustrating because I kept thinking "UGH!" simply because on the phone, I'm normally quite good and understand the person very well!
I do find it being an added stress being on the phone to unclear voices - Is it only deaf people that struggle with accents on phones?
So I reapplied for the phone in my husband's name, simply because I felt stupid if I was to reapply in my name again and get rejected again.. and that if they ring again he would have to answer it and answer the questions! Basically it was for my benefit that I didn't get embarrassed again by the same company.
Now I laugh about it because it seems funny that I was like WHAT? but I know it was horrible and I don't want to be in that position again.. I now have my phone and it's all sorted!

Has anyone else had any frustrating experience on the phone? Anyone else have troubles understanding what gets said on the phone? Any tips to share on managing phone calls? All comments welcome!

Paper Aeroplanes Review by Imogene

Paper Aeroplanes

Book Author: Dawn O’ Porter

Publisher: Hot Key Books

So, there’s something new on this blog – a book review. And I have to be perfectly honest, it’s my first, but I hope it levels with my film ones. Dawn O’ Porter is one of my favourite bloggers EVER. I adore her documentaries and work as a journalist – but most of all, her style of writing! This is one of the few things that made me fall in love with her first book “Paper Aeroplanes”.

The story is written in the eyes and language of two teenage girls, Renee and Flo. They are both fifteen and have dysfunctional lives that they both struggle to live with. They both have many things that lie very much in common with one another; however it was a friendship that wasn’t meant to happen.

Renee lives with her grandparents and sister, following the horrifying death of her mother when she was only six years old.  Flo lives with her mother, little sister and big brother.  Her mother and father are separated but she has to take on the role of “mum” to her little sister therefore putting the experiences of a “normal” teenager, far out of sight.

Due to the heartache and burdens in their lives, it was a friendship that ran deep and kept them bonded together. Their meeting changed everything they have ever known about friendship and themselves. Together and separately they experience what teenage life is really like for a fifteen year old in 1994.  

I was very interested in reading this book as soon as I saw that it was available to pre-order. Also, that it was written by Dawn O’ Porter! It looked very cheeky, so all the more reason to read it, yes?
As soon as I turned the first page I couldn’t stop reading. The words flow so easily and made it such a gripping book to keep hold of. I’m all for an emotional book and this had every emotion written in at all times. There were points where you giggled to yourself thinking “I can’t believe it!” and times where you quietly let a few tears slide out as you felt such an attachment to the characters. It’s quite an emotional rollercoaster.

It’s written almost diary-like which makes it all so intense! I liked this as it is narrated at different times by both Renee and Flo – we got to see their personal thoughts about one another and other people in their own way.

I loved reading about Renee and Flo together, the conversations they have and things that they do and it instantly makes you think of your own best friend. I’m glad it was written in this way as it gave depth to the characters and made it so the book had two personalities bouncing off one another!
It was very heartbreaking at times and due to the writing style it made me feel for the characters and sympathise with them (this is always good when you fall in deep with a book!). Also it has a realistic plotline which makes it easy and enjoyable to read, you never feel out of your depth nor struggled to understand. It’s really a story of two ordinary girls with a lot of loneliness and upset in their world, but finds someone to relate – this is what made their friendship special. This is why you pine for them to make up when they fall out and why you want them to succeed in their GCSE’s and make something of their life! Honestly, when stopping the book it was hard to think that they weren’t real people, because the wave of feeling that you had for them wouldn’t let you believe that! There isn’t a page where nothing is happening – so if you’re planning on reading this, have a couple of lazy days set aside!

It’s also important too that it covers lots of important teenage issues such as, Periods, Sex, Friendship, Bullying, Exams, Anorexia and Home-life struggles. It’s simply a book that’ll never be outdated, however so many of this next generation won’t get to experience the importance of note sharing in classes! (I loved the notes in the book – so many great memories!).

It was genuinely a pleasure to read and will forever be highly rated as one of my favourite books. I highly recommend it!

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I’m pleased to say that it has been announced that Dawn is doing a second book to this tale (YAY!) – From where, I am clueless!

I tried to stay away from reviews on this book as much as I could as I wanted to completely submerge into the story and have my own images and thoughts. However when I was reading through my twitter feed someone mentioned that Dawn used her diary to help her write this story – so one of the characters was her, now which one did you think it was?