Genre: YA Fiction, Political Fiction
Key Stage: Year 9+ (see recommendation re trigger warnings)
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/4
Kick The Moon by Muhammad Khan (2019)
Plot: This is the story of 15-year-old Ilyas who is under pressure from GCSEs coming up and teachers not taking or even giving a break, working at his dad’s shop and being part of Imran’s gang, DedManz, for life. In his life, there is simply no time to be just Ilyas. After finding himself in detention, one afternoon, Ilyas meets Kelly Matthews who is done being the good-girl. Once their friendship begins, Ilyas not only begins to fully understand Kelly, but also himself. But the good never lasts for long and after Ilyas finds his friend in danger, he must choose his priorities and stand up for himself but also the one person who understands him.
Likes and dislikes: Ilyas’ story on life, with going to school, home, work and even DedManz while still trying to have time for his passion was so motivating to just read. His dedication to his comics and PakCore, even with everyone’s disagreement, really reflected on how much effort we need to put in to achieve our ambitions and goals. But I think that there could be one tweak in the end of this story and that would be an epilogue which at least tells us of Ilyas and Kelly’s fate and what their careers look like in about 5-7 years time. But overall, no complaints from me!
Who I would recommend this to and what to read next: I think this would be great for boys from Year 9+ who would really connect to Ilyas’ story but also girls as well to understand the double standards and how cruel life is to boys and men nowadays. But this story does contain some mature content such as seduction, racism, sexism and hidden agenda so, if any of these topics upset you, I would suggest to look for another book. If you are stuck on what to read next, then I would definitely recommend Muhammad Khan’s first novel: I Am Thunder and also another being The Beauty of Your Face which also explores similar themes to Kick the Moon.
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Reviewer: Yaminah, Year 9