Caged in Chaos - Review by Mark Daly

A book review.

I really wish that this book had been written back when I was at school. It possibly would have not done any good but multiple copies would have been bought because this is the Dyspraxia bible for teenagers along with living with Dyspraxia. Victoria Biggs is an excellent writer. Her story is that she lived in Saudi Arabia for many years but wasn’t diagnosed until her second year in school or Colditz as she calls it.

There are parts in this book that go over my head - I didn’t go to boarding school and we didn’t do the cadet thing. However, here are moments in the book where the author is on the money about how co-ordination can affect PE or schools sports and she gives great advice for all areas of school life, her stories are punctuated by other teens and how Dyspraxia affects them.

Interestingly, she also mentions that Churchill and Einstein had forms of Dyspraxia. This is a book not just for teens but it is also for parents, teachers and schools, there is advice about being bullied. She also warns the reader that there is a fine line between saying too much and saying too little. In other areas too she gives good advice regarding what to do after you leave school and that is where I think the book is at its best. Along with coping strategies like doing volunteering work, creative writing or theatre work or drama, librarianships and other ideas are suggested.

In the end what marks Victoria Biggs out is her superb writing, her use of wit, using classic literary works, Brontë comes to mind.
I used to think that I had a reasonably good command of English, but you know there is always someone better!