Review: An Inner Child Speaks

An Inner Child Speaks
by Zykeya McLeod
Publisher: Zylman Publishing
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by D.S. White

When Princess reached home Olivia pulled her into the living room and beat her so hard that she bled. Blood was spurting out of Princess…” -p15

About the Book:

A young Princess loses her mother to a sudden death. While overcome by feelings of loneliness and dismay she is forced to live with her physically abusive cousin Olivia.  It’s sometimes hard being a child, but even harder when you’ve lost your mom. Quick-witted she reaches out for help and is rescued by her loving Aunt Nina.

Upon encountering Zykeya at the Queens Book Fair last year.  I was blown away.  The thought that a twelve-year-old was deep enough and astute enough to notice and care about the topic of abuse.  As I read through the book I was pleased to note the light touch with which the topic was handled.  It makes us aware of the problem and leaves lots of room for dialogue.  The book also includes definitions of words which might be difficult for younger ones to understand.  All in all a fabulous job Zykeya!

About the Author:

Zykeya McLeod lives in Brooklyn where she is in Middle School.  She enjoys playing Double Dutch with her little sister and friends. Zykeya plays the piano, sings, dances and is an aspiring actress.

Key Positives:

• The book broaches a pattern of behavior that needs to be addressed
• It is a great tool to educate the young and old

Key Negatives:

• The father’s whereabouts is left open ended in the book.  He is never mentioned.

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Recommendation:

Buy the book…

• If you’d like to make young children aware of the issue, this book would be great to gently introduce the topic. 
• If you’d like a good example of the fact that family aren’t always loving even though we expect them to be.

I hope to see a sequel where Princess branches out and helps emancipate others.