SuitabookSmoke & Mirrors
Barry Jonsberg
- Reading
- Read alongside the child if the illness or caregiving becomes intense. Pause to distinguish Grace’s feelings from the story’s wider ideas, and revisit what support and care look like in real life.
- Themes
- Care, illness and grief: Grace becomes her grandmother’s primary carer after the terminal-illness diagnosis and tries to bring joy into their lives. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Emotional guardedness and connection: Grace says she may lack the feeling others call love, trusts her grandmother, and later meets Simon, who offers friendship and practical help. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Creativity, enterprise and social media: Simon promises to help Grace turn her magic tricks into a small business and social-media stardom. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The central emotional pressure is a grandmother’s terminal illness and Grace’s role as primary carer. Grief, fear and changing responsibilities may merit a check-in before or during reading.