Smart is a fearless debut from Kim Slater that is written with great care and beauty. It was a very interesting article, touching on Lowry and how his art reflected the changes in his life and well worth a read! ( ) Kim was a guest on the Wondrous Reads blog on Friday, talking about the influence of Art on Smart.

He is also smart -he knows how to make use of his talents, he knows when something is wrong and he tells the right people. Kieran is very brave, in fact he is the bravest of everyone in the whole story, even though he is the one with special needs and does not fully understand the way people work. (Guardain Peer Review )įor me this book is all about the things that go unsaid. This is a book that will make you more aware of others' needs, and to pay attention to life because you never know when you'll have information or skills that can help someone else. Smart leaves you with the hope that this realisation will extend beyond Kieran and will soon become a part of everyday life ( .uk)Īltogether this is an amazing, enthralling and enticing debut. It's painful to see how Kieran is treated, but heart-warming when people realise what he is capable of and how he doesn't hold the prejudices against other people as most of us might do. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. And when there are dangerous secrets everywhere, not just outside, but under your own roof. When you're amazing at drawing but terrible at fitting in. It's a good job Kieran's a master of observation, and knows all the detective tricks of the trade.īut being a detective is difficult when you're Kieran Woods. And to his grandma, who just stopped coming round one day. He's going to find out what really happened.

He's made a promise, and when you say something out loud, that means you're going to do it, for real. It was only a homeless old man after all. There's been a murder, but the police don't care. He was a homeless man, but he still wanted to live.' 'I found Jean's friend dead in the river. Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and nominated for the 2015 Carnegie Medal, Kim Slater's outstanding debut, Smart, is moving and compelling novel with a loveable character at its heart.

Smart by kim slater