The Harder They Fall by Bali Rai - Revision history

Sue at 12:20, 17 April 2018

2018-04-17T12:20:35Z

Sue at 13:46, 16 February 2018

2018-02-16T13:46:29Z

Jill at 11:12, 12 April 2017

2017-04-12T11:12:53Z

Jill at 11:06, 12 April 2017

2017-04-12T11:06:09Z

Jill at 11:05, 12 April 2017

2017-04-12T11:05:43Z

Jill at 10:55, 12 April 2017

2017-04-12T10:55:51Z

Jill: Created page with "{{infobox |title=The Harder They Fall |sort= |author=Bali Rai |reviewer=Jill Murphy |genre=Dyslexia Friendly |summary=Story of bullying and poverty and the power of friendshi..."

2017-04-12T10:52:39Z

Created page with "{{infobox |title=The Harder They Fall |sort= |author=Bali Rai |reviewer=Jill Murphy |genre=Dyslexia Friendly |summary=Story of bullying and poverty and the power of friendshi..."

New review

{{infobox
|title=The Harder They Fall
|sort=
|author=Bali Rai
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Dyslexia Friendly
|summary=Story of bullying and poverty and the power of friendship, told with passion by Bookbag favourite, Bali Rai. Super-readable and dyslexia friendly.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=104
|publisher=Barrington Stoke
|website=http://www.balirai.co.uk/home
|date=May 2017
|isbn=1781126828
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781126828</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1781126828</amazonus>
|video=pUjOMGu1mko
}}

Cal loves comic books. He also dreams of being a superhero and saving the day while simultaneously winning the heart of the girl (Freya being the girl, hopefully). Batman is his favourite superhero. But Cal's world outside his daydreams is not particularly superhero-like. Because Cal is a bit of a geek and he is being bullied by mean girl Anu, who makes him complete homework assignments which she then sells on to lazy classmates. Still, it's not all bad. Cal's parents are lovely and the gorgeous Freya is making friendly overtures...

... and then Jacob arrives at school. As a newbie, he's a target for the school bullies Anu and Myles anyway, but it's not helped by his shabby clothes, standoffish ways, and aggressive manner. Cal wants to help Jacob fit in but Jacob, it seems, doesn't want anyone's help. Cal gets a clue as to why when he is helping his mother volunteer at a local food bank and spots Jacob come in with ''his'' mother.

After that, everything happens very quickly.

I loved this story. It's short and sharp and very, very passionate. Bali Rai, a favourite in these 'ere parts, has written an afterword talking about poverty and inequality in the UK and the shame and stigma associated with it. It's an angry afterword and I share Rai's anger. We must resist the slide into becoming a mean society whose most striking characteristic is a lack of empathy. But ''The Harder They Fall'' isn't a misery-fest. It's a story of the power of friendship and hope more than it is a story of degradation. The friendship between Cal, Freya and the initially unwilling Jacob is one of equals. As it should be. As both a powerful critique of inequality and a passionate defence of friendship as a unifying force, ''The Harder They Fall'' is successful on two levels.

And it feels very real. Cal might not need food banks but he does know what it feels like to be bullied. Most children will know what it's like to end up at the wrong end of a particular social pecking order at school and this part of the story was equally well-handled.

''The Harder They Fall'' is part of Barrington Stoke's ''super-readable'' range. This means it comes in with a low word count, carefully-selected font, double-spaced text, and is printed on thick, non-glare paper. This makes it suitable for both dyslexic and reluctant readers. But don't think this makes it in any way ''simple''. It has a complex thematic depth and fans of the current vogue for short, sharp fiction - even those who like the flash fiction format - will love it too. Barrington Stoke puts the reading age at 13+ but, a single, fairly chaste kiss and and an off-page encounter with a bully's violence aside, there's nothing in here that I'd be afraid to allow a younger child to read.

Recommended.

Other brilliant and super-readable stories published by Barrington Stoke include [[Desirable by Frank Cottrell Boyce]] and [[Robot Girl by Malorie Blackman]]. The [[Blade: Playing Dead by Tim Bowler|Blade series]] by Tim Bowler is a masterclass in gripping, short, sharp, episodic fiction.

{{amazontext|amazon=1781126828}}

{{amazonUStext|amazon=1781126828}}

{{commenthead}}

[[Category:Teens]]
[[Category:Confident Readers]]

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 And it feels very real. Cal might not need food banks but he does know what it feels like to be bullied. Most children will know what it's like to end up at the wrong end of a particular social pecking order at school and this part of the story was equally well-handled. All three of the protagonists here are superheroes if you ask me. I'd like to meet them in real life! I think the most important thing here, though, is that literature has the strongest power to build empathy I know. It will always be a tool of resistance.
-''The Harder They Fall'' is part of Barrington Stoke's ''super-readable'' range. It comes in with a low word count, carefully-selected font, double-spaced text, and is printed on thick, non-glare paper. This makes it suitable for both dyslexic and reluctant readers. But don't think this makes it in any way ''simple''. It has a complex thematic depth and fans of the current vogue for short, sharp fiction - even those who like the flash fiction format - will love it too. Barrington Stoke puts the reading age at 13+ but, a single, fairly chaste kiss and and an off-page encounter with a bully's violence aside, there's nothing in here that I'd be afraid to allow a younger child to read.
+''The Harder They Fall'' is part of Barrington Stoke's ''super-readable'' range. It comes in with a low word count, carefully-selected font, double-spaced text, and is printed on thick, non-glare paper. This makes it suitable for both dyslexic and reluctant readers. But don't think this makes it in any way ''simple''. It has a complex thematic depth and fans of the current vogue for short, sharp fiction - even those who like the flash fiction format - will love it too. Barrington Stoke puts the reading age at 8+ and interest age at 13+ and, a single, fairly chaste kiss and and an off-page encounter with a bully's violence aside, there's nothing in here that I'd be afraid to allow a child of 8+ to read.
 Recommended.

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 And it feels very real. Cal might not need food banks but he does know what it feels like to be bullied. Most children will know what it's like to end up at the wrong end of a particular social pecking order at school and this part of the story was equally well-handled. All three of the protagonists here are superheroes if you ask me. I'd like to meet them in real life! I think the most important thing here, though, is that literature has the strongest power to build empathy I know. It will always be a tool of resistance.
-''The Harder They Fall'' is part of Barrington Stoke's ''super-readable'' range. This means it comes in with a low word count, carefully-selected font, double-spaced text, and is printed on thick, non-glare paper. This makes it suitable for both dyslexic and reluctant readers. But don't think this makes it in any way ''simple''. It has a complex thematic depth and fans of the current vogue for short, sharp fiction - even those who like the flash fiction format - will love it too. Barrington Stoke puts the reading age at 13+ but, a single, fairly chaste kiss and and an off-page encounter with a bully's violence aside, there's nothing in here that I'd be afraid to allow a younger child to read.
+''The Harder They Fall'' is part of Barrington Stoke's ''super-readable'' range. It comes in with a low word count, carefully-selected font, double-spaced text, and is printed on thick, non-glare paper. This makes it suitable for both dyslexic and reluctant readers. But don't think this makes it in any way ''simple''. It has a complex thematic depth and fans of the current vogue for short, sharp fiction - even those who like the flash fiction format - will love it too. Barrington Stoke puts the reading age at 13+ but, a single, fairly chaste kiss and and an off-page encounter with a bully's violence aside, there's nothing in here that I'd be afraid to allow a younger child to read.
 Recommended.

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 I loved this story. It's short and sharp and very, very passionate. Bali Rai, a favourite in these 'ere parts, has written an afterword talking about poverty and inequality in the UK and the shame and stigma associated with it. It's an angry afterword and I share Rai's anger. We must resist the slide into becoming a mean society whose most striking characteristic is a lack of empathy. But ''The Harder They Fall'' isn't a misery-fest. It's a story of the power of friendship and hope more than it is a story of degradation. The friendship between Cal, Freya and the initially unwilling Jacob is one of equals. As it should be. As both a powerful critique of inequality and a passionate defence of friendship as a unifying force, ''The Harder They Fall'' is successful on two levels.
-And it feels very real. Cal might not need food banks but he does know what it feels like to be bullied. Most children will know what it's like to end up at the wrong end of a particular social pecking order at school and this part of the story was equally well-handled. All three of the protagonists here are superheroes if you ask me. I'd like to meet them in real life!
+And it feels very real. Cal might not need food banks but he does know what it feels like to be bullied. Most children will know what it's like to end up at the wrong end of a particular social pecking order at school and this part of the story was equally well-handled. All three of the protagonists here are superheroes if you ask me. I'd like to meet them in real life! I think the most important thing here, though, is that literature has the strongest power to build empathy I know. It will always be a tool of resistance.
 ''The Harder They Fall'' is part of Barrington Stoke's ''super-readable'' range. This means it comes in with a low word count, carefully-selected font, double-spaced text, and is printed on thick, non-glare paper. This makes it suitable for both dyslexic and reluctant readers. But don't think this makes it in any way ''simple''. It has a complex thematic depth and fans of the current vogue for short, sharp fiction - even those who like the flash fiction format - will love it too. Barrington Stoke puts the reading age at 13+ but, a single, fairly chaste kiss and and an off-page encounter with a bully's violence aside, there's nothing in here that I'd be afraid to allow a younger child to read.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{infobox1
 |title=The Harder They Fall
-|sort=
+|sort=Harder They Fall
 |author=Bali Rai
 |reviewer=Jill Murphy