Jacky Ha-Ha book review from the Mum and Daughter Book Club

Jacky Ha-Ha book review

Jacky Ha-Ha is the book we used to launch our mini-book club for myself and her daughter. We also reached out to home education friends and it was great to hear that young girls wanted to get involved.

The book club

I have always wanted to set up a book club loving the idea of having a great reason to read and then an opportunity to discuss books with other people. I also like the idea as it helps my daughter build her self-confidence. We have done the initial setting up and decided that a first meeting did not need a posh venue and could be done at home or even better at a café during quiet periods so that there was cake and refreshments to hand. With so many mums feeling isolated, reading and eating are great ways to make new friendships after your children are that bit older and baby groups and soft play don’t cut it any more.

The book

“With her irresistible urge to tell a joke in every situation – even when she really, really shouldn’t – twelve-year-old Jacky Ha-Ha loves to make people laugh. And cracking wise helps distract her from thinking about not-so-funny things in her life, like her mum serving in a dangerous, faraway war, and a dad who’s hardly ever home.
But no matter how much fun Jacky has, she can’t seem to escape her worries. So one starlit night, she makes a promise to keep her family together… even if she has to give up the one thing that makes her happy. But can she stop being Jacky Ha-Ha, if that’s who she really is?”

Thoughts from the book club

The book stays in Jacky’s POV, which makes it much easier to know who’s speaking.

The best thing about this is likely the fact this allows her to make jokes to say to the reader, without the author having to force them into her conversations, which can happen when a book is in third person.

My favourite character is definitely Ms. O’Mara, as she seems to have this ability to know how Jacky is, and mirror it to keep in charge (If only teachers were really like that).

The length of each chapter is very short for someone who is used to seeing 50 page long chapters, however this is probably because each chapter is an event.

The pictures fit very well, as they are seemingly from Jacky’s point of view as well.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/puffin/books/1110557/jacky-ha-ha/

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