Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy.

Rating: 4/5.
Summary: At school, Pearl feels as though she is in a group of one. Her teacher wants her to write poems that rhyme but Pearl's poems don't. At home, however, Pearl feels safe and loved, but her grandmother is slowly fading, and so are Mum and Pearl. When her grandmother eventually passes away, Pearl wants life to go back to the way it was and refuses to talk at the funeral. But she finds the courage to deliver a poem for her grandmother that defies her teacher's idea of poetry – her poem doesn't rhyme; it comes from the heart.



Review: Pearl Verses the World is not the kind of book I would pick up in a bookstore. The cover, though adorable is too childish for my tastes and I started the story with that mind set. The novel is directed at younger readers, but I still managed to enjoy it.

It's written in verse and Murphy does a wonderful job at getting Pearl's emotions across and making the reader feel for her. The verse is clever and poignant and I enjoyed it immensely.

Another thing I enjoyed about Pearl Verses the World is the youthfulness of Pearl and her sweet innocence in the novel, making the poems, for me a little more enjoyable and fun. Pearl, was in one word adorable. And I enjoyed her character, in the short length of the novel Murphy was able to make me feel attached to Pearl and really care about what she was feeling and how she would cope.

I love the message of this story and I love the way Murphy puts Pearl's thoughts across. Pearl Verses the World really is a great novel. Even though it's not YA, I believe that a lot of people would enjoy it and younger sibling would love it.

It's hard to rate Pearl Versus the World because it's not YA, it's more MG. I'd give it four out of five stars, I'd recommend it for your younger siblings and you can always have a quick read of this little gem.



Allie.