This is a great middle grade book centred on loss, grief and finally acceptance. It was well written and sensitive to the subject.
Highly recommend this one.

Thank you Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Cato is a little strange (but I liked her quirkiness and imagination!), friendless, motherless and to make matters worse, she has an empty shell of a father who she desperately tries to connect with, and an awful meddling neighbor.

When she gets a job at a mysterious old theatre, where unique movies you can’t see anywhere else, are showing, nothing is as it seems, she has some amazing (and emotional) adventures and her life starts changing for the better.

It took about one third of this book for me to get into the story and really start enjoying it. Unfortunately I predicted most of what happened but I still enjoyed reading it :).

Movies Showing Nowhere is Cate’s story, she lives with her dad, her mum died when she was born.

The story begins with Cate finding a mysterious card inviting her to cinema, for a movie showing nowhere. When she arrives she meets Mrs Kano, the person running the show. People turn up with an item and a photograph and then step into their memory and time travel.

The book is odd, I can definitely see why it would be loved by people, a fantasy story with relatable characters and situations. I found it hard to get into and enjoy, it was slightly predictable in terms of spotting the links and connections.

I think it’s a bit deep for primary age children and definitely more aimed at early Key Stage 3.

This is a story about Cate, who is living with her grief-struck father, constantly visited by an unwanted, interfering neighbour, and who is constantly thinking about her deceased mother. Then she meets the mysterious Mrs Kano and her usual cinema, which invites people to step into memories..
It is a quirky story about memories and grief, and Cate is a fierce little character. I enjoyed it but it felt to me like 3 different types of story put together in a random way. I liked it but I never felt settled in the story.
The ending wasn't an enormous surprise but tied up all the loose ends of the different things going on.
An unusual story. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

12-year-old Cato's mum died when she was born, and her father is still wrapped up in his own grief, leaving Cato to her own devices. One day a card arrives from Mrs Kano advertising Movies showing nowhere. Movies you've never seen. Who is this mysterious Mrs Kano? Why is the decrepit old cinema which has been closed for decades running again? What are these films? And most importantly, how does Mrs Kano know Cato and her father?

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC.

Movies showing nowhere
By Yorick Goldewijk
Published by Pushkin Children's Books

This original, time-travelling adventure tells the tale of Cate and her family.
Full of twists and turns which made me laugh, cry, cringe and freeze in anticipation.
Would you enter an abandoned cinema?
What does MOVIES SHOWING NOWHERE really mean?
Who says you WON'T FIND FILMS ANYWHERE ELSE?
Or who knows they are the FILMS YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE?
What’s NOT to LOVE? Just bring your own popcorn!

Cate’s mum died when Cate was born; sad but true. So Cate entertains herself as her dad is often quiet & distant - in his own world. She loves kung fu films, her pet rabbit and her photography.
But the meeting of the eccentric Mrs Kano changes everything!
Cates perspective of her dad, her memories, herself.
And so Cates curiosity turns into a journey and the reality is a movie screen that lets you step through it into a memory.

So through the memories and time travel, Cate discovers the true meaning of love, loss and learning to let go.

Joanne Bardgett - teacher of littlies, lover of Children’s literature.
#Netgalley

4.25*

A moving and layered middle grade story about grief, memory, loss and acceptance, originally written in Dutch and now translated for the first time into English.

In this book we meet Cate whose mother died giving birth to her and as a result her dad pulled away into his own world of sorrow and grief. Cate finds that she has to navigate her lonely life by keeping busy with her love of kung fu, her pet rabbit that thinks its a pig and her photography hobby. As she whiles away the hours finding the places and things not seen by people around her she comes across a card from a Mrs Kano who runs a cinema with movies showing nowhere. Intrigued she goes to investigate more and in doing so steps into a world of memory that teaches her valuable lessons about life, family and learning to let go.

I picked up this book because the fantasy/time travel element of the story really intrigued me and as I read on became invested in unravelling the mystery of Mrs Kano and what her motivations are. This and the nature of the memory cinema made the heavier storylines more accessible especially as we worked towards working out the mystery and what her ultimate link to Cate and her dad is.

For adults of course this entire plot point is likely to be very obvious but for its intended audience I can see young readers being very intrigued and easily get caught up in the story and the adventures that Cate goes on whilst helping out at the cinema as a time buddy.

This really is a cleverly crafted book with multiple layers that children will easily want to come to again and again and find new things each time. I loved how the story unfolded and found it to be truly though provoking in many ways.

Grown up themes written carefully and with great empathy and attention for it's intended audience make this a highly recommended read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Children's Books for a copy of the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

A very enticing concept with an interesting writing style. I especially liked Cate's witty tongue. But I did find it hard to remain invested in the story. Maybe an issue with pace?

Moving, poignant, a book about grief and discovering who we are. Well plotted and intriguing
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story, but it intrigued me.
It is about love, loss, memories and looking at things from unexpected perspectives.
I read it in one sitting and will be recommending it to everyone.
I would also like to commend the translator, as this did not read / feel like some translations can. It was smooth and just right.

Cate’s mum died giving birth so she lives with her dad, who barely speaks to her. When she meets an old lady at a run down cinema who shows people how to time travel, Cate has the opportunity to go back in time.

This is a lovely story about grief, loss and finding out who you are. I loved the relationship between Cate and Tubs and found Mrs Kano an interesting character. One of the difficulties of time travel books is maintaining the ‘rules’ throughout, but this book does it well.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.