- **‘Like
- amber,
- these
- poems
- capture
- moments
- of
- time,
- place
- and
- feeling'
- Lemn
- Sissay,
- author
- of
- My
- Name
- is
- Why'An
- assured
- debut
- .
- .
- .
- It's
- not
- just
- the
- Dickensian
- narrative
- that's
- gripping
- ,
- but
- the
- way
- it
- brings
- different
- forms
- to
- bear
- on
- its
- material'
- Guardian**'Don’t
- worry,
- I’m
- here
- in
- the
- house
- where
- every
- room
- has
- a
- name,
- but
- children’s
- names
- are
- often
- forgotten.'Uplifting
- and
- heart-breaking,
- this
- lyrical
- evocation
- of
- a
- childhood
- on
- the
- edge
- of
- society
- marks
- the
- arrival
- of
- a
- vital
- new
- voice.MINX
- reveals
- the
- vibrant
- but
- precarious
- world
- of
- a
- multi-racial
- Romani
- family:
- a
- world
- of
- grandfathers
- brewing
- moonshine
- in
- marrows,
- basement
- reggae
- parties,
- and
- a
- mother
- struggling
- to
- support
- her
- two
- daughters
- on
- the
- proceeds
- of
- her
- shadowy
- profession.
- Their
- powerful
- bond
- helps
- the
- sisters
- survive
- when
- they’re
- taken
- into
- care,
- in
- a
- children’s
- home
- that
- forcibly
- separates
- them.With
- a
- verve
- and
- playfulness
- that
- belies
- their
- pain,
- these
- poems
- explore
- what
- it
- means
- to
- belong.
- Through
- daring
- experiments
- with
- form
- and
- narrative,
- MINX
- captures
- how
- it
- feels
- to
- grow
- up
- between
- a
- culture
- whose
- traditional
- ways
- are
- being
- lost
- and
- a
- wider
- society
- that
- despises
- them.'Fiercely
- imaginative
- and
- wonderfully
- unexpected'
- Ruth
- Padel,
- author
- of Girl
pro-mbooks3 : libris
