{"id":13195,"date":"2026-10-18T20:47:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T12:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=13195"},"modified":"2026-10-19T15:21:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T07:21:56","slug":"on_4_novels_2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2026\/10\/18\/on_4_novels_2020\/","title":{"rendered":"A nov\u00adel read\u00ading expe\u00adri\u00adence and a life expe\u00adri\u00adence of liv\u00ading in har\u00admo\u00adny with the sun and moon."},"content":{"rendered":"

\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n

Thanks in part to the pan\u00addem\u00adic, I devoured the four lat\u00adest award-win\u00adning nov\u00adels from the \u201cI Love Read\u00ading: Award-Win\u00adning Nov\u00adels\u201d series almost with\u00adout any dis\u00adtrac\u00adtions. To be hon\u00adest, if you\u2019re a chil\u00addren\u2019s book enthu\u00adsi\u00adast, these four books are hard to put down once you start read\u00ading. They pro\u00advid\u00aded a tru\u00adly nov\u00adel read\u00ading expe\u00adri\u00adence, and the mem\u00ado\u00adries lin\u00adgered long after fin\u00adish\u00ading them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First of all, these four books are tru\u00adly \u201cnew,\u201d hav\u00ading all been pub\u00adlished in the UK with\u00adin the last five years and win\u00adning major British and Amer\u00adi\u00adcan chil\u00addren\u2019s book awards or receiv\u00ading pres\u00adti\u00adgious rec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtions. In oth\u00ader words, they are excel\u00adlent chil\u00addren\u2019s books that chil\u00addren in the Eng\u00adlish-speak\u00ading world are cur\u00adrent\u00adly read\u00ading and receiv\u00ading con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable atten\u00adtion for. From this per\u00adspec\u00adtive, we can also under\u00adstand what West\u00adern chil\u00addren are read\u00ading, pay\u00ading atten\u00adtion to, and think\u00ading about today.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

These four nov\u00adels indeed touch upon very new themes: *The Matil\u00adda Effect* reveals the unfair treat\u00adment, even neglect and exploita\u00adtion, of women in the sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic field; *The Sky Chas\u00ader* tells the sto\u00adry of the first human hot air bal\u00adloon flight, while sub\u00adtly explor\u00ading the role of women in the progress of human tech\u00adno\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion; *Time Trav\u00adel with a Ham\u00adster* appears to be based on Wells\u2019 *The Time Machine* sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion, but incor\u00adpo\u00adrates very real social issues such as racial inte\u00adgra\u00adtion in mod\u00adern soci\u00adety, fam\u00adi\u00adly rela\u00adtion\u00adships in blend\u00aded fam\u00adi\u00adlies, and the con\u00adflict and inte\u00adgra\u00adtion of ideas between gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions; and *The Bub\u00adble Boy* presents a com\u00adplete\u00adly new per\u00adspec\u00adtive on the strange life and rich inner world of a boy with Severe Com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsive Immun\u00adod\u00ade\u00adfi\u00adcien\u00adcy Syn\u00addrome (SCID). In short, the first impres\u00adsion after read\u00ading these four books is: incred\u00adi\u00adbly enlight\u00aden\u00ading! This is per\u00adhaps a very inter\u00adest\u00ading phe\u00adnom\u00ade\u00adnon of excel\u00adlent chil\u00addren\u2019s books: although they may not delve into such pro\u00adfound depths, they present a com\u00adplex world in a way that inter\u00adests chil\u00addren, evok\u00ading appro\u00adpri\u00adate atten\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Excel\u00adlent chil\u00addren\u2019s nov\u00adels don\u2019t mere\u00adly present these themes, nor do they sim\u00adply impart moral lessons. Instead, they use superb sto\u00adry\u00adtelling tech\u00adniques to firm\u00adly grasp chil\u00addren\u2019s curios\u00adi\u00adty, allow\u00ading them to freely roam in a won\u00addrous world of imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion. If you\u2019ve ever tried telling sto\u00adries to adults and chil\u00addren sep\u00ada\u00adrate\u00adly, you\u2019ll find that tru\u00adly cap\u00adtur\u00ading chil\u00addren\u2019s atten\u00adtion can be much more dif\u00adfi\u00adcult. Remark\u00adably, these four nov\u00adels with nov\u00adel themes all show\u00adcase the authors\u2019 excep\u00adtion\u00adal sto\u00adry\u00adtelling skills.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In *The Matil\u00adda Effect*, author Ellie Irv\u00ading devis\u00ades a seem\u00ading\u00adly impos\u00adsi\u00adble task: twelve-year-old Matil\u00adda must smug\u00adgle her eighty-year-old grand\u00admoth\u00ader out of a nurs\u00ading home, and then, with\u00adout mon\u00adey or pass\u00adports, the two must trav\u00adel from Eng\u00adland to Swe\u00adden with\u00adin two days to expose a scan\u00addal that occurred half a cen\u00adtu\u00adry ear\u00adli\u00ader at the Green\u00adwich Obser\u00adva\u00adto\u00adry in Lon\u00addon, ensur\u00ading the Nobel Prize in Physics is award\u00aded to the right\u00adful grand\u00admoth\u00ader! \u2014Good heav\u00adens, how is that pos\u00adsi\u00adble?! Yet, through a series of inge\u00adnious and unbe\u00adliev\u00adable arrange\u00adments, the author makes it all pos\u00adsi\u00adble in a plau\u00adsi\u00adble way, fos\u00adter\u00ading change and rec\u00adon\u00adcil\u00adi\u00ada\u00adtion among many peo\u00adple in the process. While some plot points may seem exag\u00adger\u00adat\u00aded, the extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion is tru\u00adly remark\u00adable. Espe\u00adcial\u00adly when jus\u00adtice is served at the end, one can\u2019t help but cheer. As a father of a girl, I real\u00adly want to rec\u00adom\u00admend this book to all girls in the world; it\u2019s tru\u00adly exhil\u00ada\u00adrat\u00ading.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From a nar\u00adra\u00adtive tech\u00adnique per\u00adspec\u00adtive, *Sky Chasers* seems to have the upper hand. Inspired by a bril\u00adliant idea: the first human-car\u00adry\u00ading hot air bal\u00adloon flight in Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 1783 at Ver\u00adsailles, France, the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnists aren\u2019t the his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant Mont\u00adgolfi\u00ader broth\u00aders, nor Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, but two lit\u00adtle-known yet cru\u00adcial teenagers, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the for\u00admer home\u00adless girl, Lit\u00adtle Mag\u00adpie, a for\u00admer habit\u00adu\u00adal thief! The nov\u00adel unfolds from Lit\u00adtle Mag\u00adpie\u2019s first-per\u00adson per\u00adspec\u00adtive, with a tense and excit\u00ading plot\u2014burglary, high\u00adway rob\u00adbery, duels, espi\u00adonage, and life-threat\u00aden\u00ading adven\u00adtures inter\u00adwo\u00adven through\u00adout, cre\u00adat\u00ading sus\u00adpense and a real *The Three Mus\u00adke\u00adteers* feel, yet pos\u00adsess\u00ading the warmth and humor char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtic of young adult fic\u00adtion. It\u2019s a thor\u00adough\u00adly enjoy\u00adable read, deeply inspir\u00ading human\u00adi\u00adty\u2019s per\u00adse\u00adver\u00adance and courage in explor\u00ading the unknown.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Of these four books, the most mind-bend\u00ading has to be *Time Trav\u00adel\u00adling with a Ham\u00adster*. Author Ross Welford devised an \u201cimpos\u00adsi\u00adble mis\u00adsion\u201d: Twelve-year-old Al, fol\u00adlow\u00ading instruc\u00adtions in a let\u00adter from his father who died four years pri\u00ador, must use a time machine invent\u00aded by his father to trav\u00adel back in time to when his father was twelve to pre\u00advent a go-kart acci\u00addent. The acci\u00adden\u00adt\u2019s lin\u00adger\u00ading effects were the cause of his father\u2019s death when Al was eight\u2014in oth\u00ader words, twelve-year-old Al must go back in time to meet his twelve-year-old father and save his life! Sounds com\u00adpli\u00adcat\u00aded, right?! And the author has painstak\u00ading\u00adly increased the dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty, because twelve-year-old Al is now liv\u00ading with his remar\u00adried moth\u00ader, step\u00adfa\u00adther, and step\u00adsis\u00adter. His father\u2019s time machine is still hid\u00adden in a secret cel\u00adlar in the old house\u00ad\u2019s garage, and the old house now has new own\u00aders!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The nar\u00adra\u00adtive of *Time Trav\u00adel with a Ham\u00adster* is itself some\u00adwhat labyrinthine, sim\u00adi\u00adlar to the log\u00adic of the movie *Source Code*. The pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist must repeat\u00aded\u00adly try to return to a cer\u00adtain point in the past to com\u00adplete an impos\u00adsi\u00adble task, thus cre\u00adat\u00ading var\u00adi\u00adous inter\u00adwo\u00adven and trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtive pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties in par\u00adal\u00adlel uni\u00advers\u00ades. The author also sets up some con\u00advinc\u00ading rules for time trav\u00adel: one can\u00adnot kill one\u2019s grand\u00adfa\u00adther (oth\u00ader\u00adwise, one would cease to exist); one can\u00adnot repeat\u00aded\u00adly go to the same point in time; one can\u00adnot encounter anoth\u00ader ver\u00adsion of one\u00adself from anoth\u00ader time\u00adline\u2026 This makes the task even more dif\u00adfi\u00adcult. Read\u00ading this book is like solv\u00ading a math\u00ade\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal puz\u00adzle; fol\u00adlow\u00ading the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist\u2019s log\u00adi\u00adcal think\u00ading is quite chal\u00adleng\u00ading, and the author then adds a ham\u00adster to Al\u2019s jour\u00adney, requir\u00ading him to care for it each time he trav\u00adels through time, and on sev\u00ader\u00adal occa\u00adsions even risk\u00ading great dan\u00adger to save its life. I ini\u00adtial\u00adly could\u00adn\u2019t help but think this was an over\u00adly sen\u00adti\u00admen\u00adtal detail, unnec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly dou\u00adbling the dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty. But upon reach\u00ading the end, when the ham\u00adster\u2019s role is revealed, I could\u00adn\u2019t help but admire the author\u2019s metic\u00adu\u00adlous think\u00ading. It\u2019s said that this book is his debut work, which is tru\u00adly unbe\u00adliev\u00adable.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Of the four books, the most cut\u00adting-edge is undoubt\u00aded\u00adly *Bub\u00adble*. Elec\u00adtron\u00adic com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion plays a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant role in the nar\u00adra\u00adtive, fea\u00adtur\u00ading smart\u00adphones, text mes\u00adsages, BBS mes\u00adsages, and lengthy Skype con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtions. These con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtions even include var\u00adi\u00adous web links and Google search results. How\u00adev\u00ader, upon clos\u00ader read\u00ading, you\u2019ll find that these trendy ele\u00adments are used apt\u00adly, seem\u00ading\u00adly essen\u00adtial to per\u00adfect\u00adly por\u00adtray\u00ading the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist\u2019s life and inner world. Joe, an eleven-year-old boy who dreams of being a super\u00adhero, is unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly born a \u201cBub\u00adble Boy.\u201d Lack\u00ading a com\u00adplete immune sys\u00adtem, he must live in a spe\u00adcial\u00adly designed, ster\u00adile space in a hos\u00adpi\u00adtal from the age of two months, like liv\u00ading in a bub\u00adble iso\u00adlat\u00aded from the world. For\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, he has access to state-of-the-art com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion tools, allow\u00ading him to main\u00adtain con\u00adnec\u00adtions with the out\u00adside world, con\u00adtin\u00adue his stud\u00adies, keep his super\u00adhero dream alive, and even form a close friend\u00adship with Hen\u00adry, anoth\u00ader Bub\u00adble Boy, across the ocean.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read\u00ading *The Bub\u00adble Boy* was a pecu\u00adliar expe\u00adri\u00adence. Ini\u00adtial\u00adly, I was dri\u00adven by curios\u00adi\u00adty, want\u00adi\u00adng to under\u00adstand how this pecu\u00adliar state of life con\u00adtin\u00adued. Grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly, I devel\u00adoped more sym\u00adpa\u00adthy for the young pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist; as the eccen\u00adtric nurse Amir appeared and grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly took con\u00adtrol, my feel\u00adings became increas\u00ading\u00adly complex\u2014worried that Joe might be harmed by \u201cgood inten\u00adtions,\u201d yet also hop\u00ading that Joe could expe\u00adri\u00adence the real world. In the sto\u00adry, Joe and Hen\u00adry\u2019s adven\u00adtures unfold almost simul\u00adta\u00adne\u00adous\u00adly, one in Lon\u00addon, the oth\u00ader in Philadel\u00adphia, yet their lives are inex\u00adtri\u00adca\u00adbly linked. When the out\u00adcome of their adven\u00adtures was revealed, this seem\u00ading\u00adly unsen\u00adti\u00admen\u00adtal sto\u00adry brought tears to my eyes. I dis\u00adcov\u00adered that this was a sto\u00adry about the con\u00adnec\u00adtion of lives; while ful\u00adly immersed in the sto\u00adry, I uncon\u00adscious\u00adly formed a con\u00adnec\u00adtion with the fates of the two young pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnists.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When I final\u00adly stepped out of this sto\u00adry and reflect\u00aded on it for a long time, it sud\u00adden\u00adly occurred to me that this strong feel\u00ading was close\u00adly relat\u00aded to the pan\u00addem\u00adic we are cur\u00adrent\u00adly expe\u00adri\u00adenc\u00ading. Over the past two months, most of us have expe\u00adri\u00adenced some form of \u201cbub\u00adble boy\u201d expe\u00adri\u00adence, and many oth\u00aders around the world are join\u00ading in. Peo\u00adple have had to con\u00adfine them\u00adselves to their homes or oth\u00ader iso\u00adla\u00adtion spaces for a peri\u00adod of time to avoid infec\u00adtion. In this process, we, like the bub\u00adble boy, con\u00adnect with the world through elec\u00adtron\u00adic media. What kind of expe\u00adri\u00adence is that? With\u00adout such an expe\u00adri\u00adence, how can we tru\u00adly under\u00adstand that pecu\u00adliar state of life? In this process, we are able to exam\u00adine cer\u00adtain val\u00adues in life that may be over\u00adlooked in ordi\u00adnary times. We con\u00adnect with oth\u00ader lives far away in one way or anoth\u00ader, cheer\u00ading for those who per\u00adse\u00advere, applaud\u00ading the blos\u00adsom\u00ading of life\u2019s pas\u00adsion, and lament\u00ading and griev\u00ading for the many lives that could not be stopped from pass\u00ading away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is indeed a very pecu\u00adliar expe\u00adri\u00adence. When we are forced to become \u201cbub\u00adble boys\u201d to some extent, we become more atten\u00adtive to oth\u00ader lives under the same sky in for\u00adeign lands, and then reflect on the val\u00adue and mean\u00ading of our own lives. Hope\u00adful\u00adly, we won\u2019t eas\u00adi\u00adly for\u00adget this unique expe\u00adri\u00adence, and hope\u00adful\u00adly, those won\u00adder\u00adful chil\u00addren\u2019s books can con\u00adtin\u00adue to pro\u00advide sim\u00adi\u00adlar expe\u00adri\u00adences.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the chil\u00addren, for tomor\u00adrow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Writ\u00adten by A\u2011Jia on April 6, 2020, in Bei\u00adjing.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBook reviews of four nov\u00adels from the UK fea\u00adtured in \u201cI Love Read\u00ading: Award-Win\u00adning Nov\u00adels\u201d.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[8,508,509,10,92],"class_list":["post-13195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ajia-review","category-thoughts","tag-8","tag-508","tag-509","tag-10","tag-92"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404575081043984448-001.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13195"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13242,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13195\/revisions\/13242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}