Llama Out Loud

Yasmin Shah is a quiet girl in a REALLY loud family. It seems like no-one's ever listening to her - so one day, Yasmin decides to stop talking. She retreats into silence and playing checkers with the people at the elderly day care centre.

Then Levi, a talking, shouting, joking, laughing prankster of a toy llama, bursts into her life at full volume. It’s just a pity that all his pranks are blamed on Yasmin…

This is a fantastically funny book. Yasmin’s loving but overbearing East London Pakistani family are wonderfully observed, while her friendships are well drawn and touching - from Ezra, who has some traits that could be attributed to ADHD, to the elderly people at the day care centre who share her passion for checkers. Levi himself has a brilliant backstory – he’s a magical guardian llama who needs to help Yasmin in order to save himself.

This is a unique story, with a heroine whose likeable personality comes across although she does not speak a word for most of the book. It would suit readers who like a laugh-out-loud story with a big heart and a spark of magic.