Kite Spirit

REVIEWS
'Kite Spirit' was published in May 2013 and has garnered some heart-felt reviews. 

 Long-Listed for the UKLA award 2014.
http://www.ukla.org/awards/longlists_ukla_book_award_2014/


Kite Spirit Book Trailer
Newly released on October 28th...
Audio CD's of 'Kite Spirit' read by Juliet Stevenson
The audio book for 'Kite Spirit' has been recorded for AudioGo. It is available from 28th October. I am truly honoured that the wonderful actress Juliet Stevenson is reading my book which can be purchased through the following link.
'Kite Spirit' Reviews Update

'An outstandingly beautiful story about a girl coping with her friend’s death. 'Sita Brahmachari’s haunting novel set amidst the rugged beauty of the Lake District promises to be one of 2013’s most powerful and emotionally charged stories in the burgeoning young adult market.Perfectly pitched and written with the utmost sensitivity and truly uplifting charm, this is a book to read and treasure, to gain wisdom and understanding, and to comfort and console. Kite Spirit is a masterclass in wise and sympathetic storytelling and a superbly constructed lesson in the joys of friendship, the human heart’s ability to heal itself and the importance of acceptance and renewal. A moving and unmissable treat for both teens and adults


'Brahmachari writes with an incredible grace. She is very, very good at getting to the truth inside her work, be that the emotional heartache of Mira or the near-incomprehensible pain of Kite in Kite Spirit. Reading a book by Brahmachari is a very precious thing indeed. And Kite Spirit is a more than fitting tribute to one of the best writers to emerge on the scene in recent years. It's a book that is packed full of truth, sadness and a very quiet humanity.'
Quote from LH Johnson on  Good Reads



Scotsman Review

I was delighted to receive this review from Jane E Sandell, The Children's Editor of The Scotsman. As we approach the summer holidays with so many books to choose from it's a real honour to be included in the 'Summer's Best Reads' list. This is what she says about 'Kite Spirit'

'Grounded firmly in the real world is Kite Spirit (Macmillan, £6.99) by Sita Brahmachari. Kite’s life is shattered when her best friend, Dawn, commits suicide. Stunned by grief, and overcome by feelings of guilt, Kite struggles to continue with the everyday routines of her life. When her Dad’s work takes him to the Lake District for the summer, Kite goes with him and there she finds a way to live her life without Dawn. Sita Brahmachari captures the maelstrom of shock, disbelief, anger and pain that is grief without sliding off 
into either hysteria or sentimentality in this difficult, but rewarding, book.'




'Kite Spirit' Reviewed by Books For Keeps Review by Geoff Fox
I loved this sensitive review by Geoff Fox. It seems to reflect all I set out to do when I wrote ' Kite Spirit'

Kite’s best friend Dawn takes her own life on the morning of their GCSE Geography paper. Not because she was anxious about the exam – she was an A* student. Things are more complicated than that. Kite and Dawn had been best friends since they met in the playground of their London nursery school. Kite is the daughter of singer-songwriter Seth from Sheffield and flamboyant choreographer Ruby, whose family still lives in St Kitts. Her parents let Kite ‘choose her own name’ when, as a baby, she had ‘kicked my legs cos I saw a kite flying’. She has lived up to her name ever since, as a runner, a gymnast training with Circus Space, a flyer in every way. Dawn’s parents are more conventional and she had been more tentative, less self-assured; she found her way of flying through playing her oboe – and here she had seemed to have a brilliant future.
Kite’s journey from that morning of Dawn’s suicide is both spiritual and psychological, made possible through a literal journey she takes with Seth to the Lake District. He’s there to write music, but also to search for his own roots, since his mother was adopted in that area after the war and never knew her parents. As Seth discovers strands of his identity, Kite sees more clearly the security and open warmth of her own extended Caribbean family. Kite meets several people in the Lakes; each one in some way helps her understand the emotional numbness into which she has fallen. Finally Garth, a boy of her own age, enables her to release the dam which has prevented her grieving, to find a way of letting Dawn go without losing her. His care for her is intuitive and gentle – through actions rather than words.
There are other, more mystical strands, anticipated in lines from The Prelude which precede the narrative. Owls intervene in the story almost as messengers, their presence releasing moments of insight. The landscape and even one luxurious modern cantilevered house (planning permission, in a National Park?) also work upon Kite’s mind which, as the weeks pass, becomes in Wordsworth’s words, ‘nourished and invisibly repaired’.
The final page of Kite Spirit lists the contact details for Mind, The Samaritans, Childline and Young Minds; that’s consistent with the author’s caring, compassionate impulse evident in the plot but also the manner of its telling.





'Kite Spirit' book event at Children's Bookshop Muswell Hill

I absolutely loved Kite Spirit! It was emotional, heartbreaking and truthful  and I couldn’t stop reading it. The plot was really great, and beautifully written. I loved the main backdrop for the book, the Lake District- I really enjoyed the authors vivid descriptions. There was a tie-in with the afterlife while Kite was in the Lake District, a little, with the Owls (I won’t explain anymore, because I might drop some spoilers!), and I really liked reading about that and how it drew Kite closer to Garth and his grandmother.
I really loved the character of Kite- Sit Brahmachari has managed to convey so much of her emotions, through a third-person narrative. I really understood Kite, and loved her unique personality so much. She was a really strong protagonist, overall. Her ending to the story was just perfect! It really showed how Kite had changed after the events of the book and that she had said goodbye to Dawn.
I liked how Kite and Dawn’s relationship with each other in the past was clearly illustrated for the reader with frequent flashbacks, and memories. The really showed me what Dawn was like, and gave me clues as to why Dawn might have committed suicide. Dawn’s situation pre-death was very understandable, and the outcome very shocking.
Overall, Kite Spirit was totally amazing, and flawless, in my opinion. It brought tears to my eyes multiple times, but that just shows what an emotional ride this book was. The characters were three-dimensional and realistic, and the setting was really great. I think this book was a great introduction for me to Sita Brahmachari’s award-winning writing- I can’t wait to soon read Artichoke Hearts, Jasmine Skies, and any more from Sita in the future!
Read more reviews by Georgia at www.booksandwritersjnr.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter@GeeGeeWalters

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