Fish in a Tree

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You can read the extensive 'sleeve notes' that tell the full story of the rehearsals and the gig itself and the dramas behind it all at https://fishmusic.scot/news/article/a-fish-in-the-lemon-tree-stream-out-now-read-the-full-sleeve-notes-by-fish/2033

word uncouth even means. Do you?” “I know what uncouth means,” Albert says. “I know something else, too. Only an uncouth person would wear snail snot.” She looks at us like we’re wearing it. “You say purple is the color of royals,” he says. “They only wore purple because it was the most difficult and expensive color to make. In medieval times, they needed to collect three thousand Murex brandaris snails to have enough slime to make one cloak. So, good for you. I’d prefer beige.” He turns to me. “What about you, Ally? Slime or beige?” “Oh, I’d have to go for beige.” I try not to smile, as much as I want to, and I try to keep my voice fromsounding as happy as it is, because the look on Shay’s face when she looks down at her new sweater, like she is actually covered in snail slime, is pretty unforgettable. This book was fine. 3.5 stars in basically the very middle of the rating spectrum, so I'm just kind of neutral. I fold my arms and close my eyes. Hoping that when I open them she’ll be gone. But she’s still there.

This was one of those cases where the cover attracted me to the book before I even knew what it was about. (You have to admit – that is a pretty cool image and it looks more impressive in person as the fish is actually glossy so it stands out.) Thankfully, the book’s premise and story both held weight, enough to make it on the top 10 realistic fiction book list. Ally's friends also seemed contrived and overused. Keisha, the confident friend. Albert, the so-smart-he's-quirky friend. I've seen both too many times. When we get into the car, Travis says, “Did you see how that guy in there took me for a fool? Trying to rip me off. Remember, Ally. When people have low expectations of you, you can sometimes use it to your advantage.” Then he looks me right in the eyes and points at my nose. “As long as you don’t have low expectations of yourself. You hear?” I nod again. But I think to myself that it’s hard not to these days. For years they have both hidden the fact they can't read or write. They distract, they overcompensate, and they just take the hits as being a troublemaker instead of a struggling reader. She has a very loving mother… But she needs to work long hours - at an ice cream store- and is not home as much as she wishes.

At first I was annoyed with Ally because she seemed to be purposely failing, but I soon realized that that was not the case at all. I realized that she was actually struggling very hard to be better, though at the beginning that wasn't apparent. I can’t think of anything worse than having to describe myself. I’d rather write about something more positive. Like throwing up at your own birthday party. Fish In A Tree tells the story of a young girl who can't make the words and letters stay in place and always feels out of her depth in school because of that. Some of her classmates make fun of her and she is convinced that is really, truly stupid. Until a new teacher comes to school and makes her realize that her brain simply works differently and that many of the most brilliant minds ever had dyslexia, just like her.The reason why Wonder was such a revelation is because R.J. Palacio side-stepped the cliches with creative narrative structure featuring painfully realistic character development.