Someone sets the local playground on fire, but firemen arrive and put the fire out. On the last day of school, Harri watches with delight as the Year 11 kids celebrate their newfound freedom. He and Poppy hold hands, and she kisses him. Harri runs home, shouting his love for Poppy, the pigeons, and the trees. When Harri is almost home, a boy jumps out and stabs him. To sum up, it's really an interesting book and a tear-jerker strangely, for one so politically relevant. But a warning - it might annoy some American readers with a lot of unfamiliar words and different accents. These words are also unfamiliar to a lot of British people not living in that area but there are so many accents and dialects in the UK - English is a less homogenous language than in the US maybe - that it doesn't really annoy anyone. The book is especially recommended to those who haven't forgotten the way the police and judiciary treated the murder of Damilola Taylor, whom this book is obviously about, may the little boy RIP. While at Lydia’s house, Miquita tells Harri that she’s going to teach him how to kiss. However, when Miquita forces Harri’s hand inside her vagina, Harri pushes her away. Miquita and Lydia get into an argument, during which Lydia implies that Killa is a murderer.

Za razliku od mnogih, nisam našla knjigu nepodnošljivom ili toliko bezvrednom. Ali fali joj toliko toga, ravna je, bez konstrukcije i beskrvna. Prenosi jaku poruku, ali nije dovoljno snažno napisana da je prenese. In this quotation, Harri tries to justify his desire to join the Dell Farm Crew by speculating that he could serve as a missionary for them. Though Harri doesn't want to commit crimes, his stated reason for wanting to join the gang is insincere. Throughout the text, Harri states that if he joins the Dell Farm crew, he will be "the big fish" and "all the little fish would be scared," protecting him from abuse. Thus, Harri convinces himself that if he teaches the Dell Farm Crew about God, he can benefit from their protection while maintaining his morals. When a boy is murdered outside a fast food restaurant, Harri and his CSI-obsessed friend Dean take it upon themselves to investigate the crime themselves. However in an estate which is run by the Dell Farm Crew and where the police can't be trusted, Harri's innocent investigations lead him into dangerous territory with devastating consequences.Pigeon English is a book to fall in love with: a funny book, a true book, a shattering book' Erica Wagner, The Times

Manjkava knjiga ( sudeći po komentarima stranaca na račun naracije imam skoro osećaj da je prevod na srpski previše dobar). What your problem is, you're all just a raindrop. One of an endless number. If only you'd just accept it, things would be so much easier. Say it with me: I am a drop in the ocean. I am neighbour, nation, north, and nowhere. I am one among many and we all fall together. I'm sure Mr. Kelman has created some loveable characters but sadly, I could feel no sympathy towards any of them. Yes, even Harri. Mamma likes it best when it’s a child who died. That’s when she prays the hardest. She prays proper hard and squeezes you until you think you’re going to burst. Grown-ups love sad news, it gives them something special to pray for. Harri, AprilMy mood usually affects my overall liking of the book I'm currently reading and I was in a pretty down mood when I was reading Pigeon English. But to be honest, I don't think my thoughts would differ even if I was in my most cheery self. LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. I wonder what Heaven is really like. Is it different for kids than for grown-ups. Like would there still be somebody there telling him to come in Sharks never sleep. They have to keep swimming or they’ll die so they’re not allowed to sleep at all, not even for one second. Harri, June

I didn't care for the absolute jumpiness of the story, written as though the narrator was on something and in somewhat hyper text pieces that were interjected. The characters did not appeal to me and although I am sure Mr. Kelman tried to make them real, they just seemed like a cutout of the typical middle schooler of today. The gist of the story seems to get lost quite a bit as the kids name call, use the word hutious ad infiitum and adore the usage of four letter words. I realize that these elements are like rites of passage for young people these days, but it just did not ring true nor endear the characters to this reader. Už jsem jednou mrtvýho člověka viděl. Bylo to tam, jak jsme bydleli, na trhu v Kaneši. Paní, co tam prodávala pomeranče, srazil minibus; neviděl ho přijíždět nikdo. Já si představoval, že ty pomeranče, který se rozkutálely po zemi, jsou její šťastný vzpomínky a že hledají někoho jinýho, na koho by se mohly přilepit, aby nepřišly vniveč.” The writing is also weird. It's all jumbled, and the sentences are short. It makes you go red-eyes and want to throw the book out the window at first. Then it starts working. It really drags you in then. It's like the person writing can't write. Except he can. The pigeon bits are full of big words that make no sense. They look pretty though, all big and full of letters. X-Fire (pronounced "Cross Fire") is the ostensible leader of the Dell Farm Crew. X-Fire has a ferocious pit bull and recruits young children, like Harri and Jordan, into his crew by assigning them dangerous and illegal initiation "missions." X-Fire compels Lydia to destroy evidence and threatens Harri repeatedly. Auntie SoniaAn 11 year old refugee from Ghana moves to a poor neighbourhood in London UK and lives his life with his mother and sister while Dad and baby sister remain in Ghana. One day, while Miquita is straightening Lydia’s hair, she burns Lydia’s cheek on purpose, asking, “Are you with us or against us?” Lydia assures her she is with them. After school, X-Fire and Dizzy chase Harri and threaten to kill him, but they eventually walk away. Harri is the first person narrator for most parts except for those that are spoken by the pigeon that visits him on their flat located on the 9th floor. While I admired the purity and ebullience of Harri’s narration, I was amazed on how Kelman handled the parts of the narrative by the pigeon especially those with open and close quotes. Kelman’s approach is fresh and inventive, playful and spontaneous. The pigeon has its own voice that provides contrast to that of Harri’s.