What does it mean to be a people person? This is the question People Person looks at, explores and answers in relation to our lead character, Dimple. It’s also a joyful look at blended families and just how far you’ll go for your own flesh and blood.
Opening sentence: ‘Hello? Hi, is this Nikisha? Hi, it’s Dimple.
Meet the Pennington half-siblings
From oldest to youngest, they are: Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie, Dimple and Prynce and they are all in their 20/30s. Dimple is the main narrator here and while she didn’t grow up with her half siblings, a shocking event in her life sees her turning to them when she most needs trust, help and support.
Their dad, Cyril Pennington is only fleetingly in their lives. He is another version of a ‘people person’ in the sense he makes acquaintances but develops no bonds. This includes with his children.
Dimple is a really likeable character. She wants people to love her – she’s a people pleaser and that sometimes comes at the detriment of her own self-esteem. This story is her journey too.
‘No, I mean, like the person you are on the internet isn’t as good as the person you are in real life. All those emotions are a lot, but they’re very real. And the real version of you is better than anything else.’
The one thing I would say is that all the characters were much too lenient with Cyril in the end, letting him get away with way too much in, in my opinion! He never faced responsibility for the five children he fathered.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this – the siblings’ characters blended really well together and learning about what made each of them tick was great. I liked how within the same page the perspective shifts between characters , jumping into the mind of each to give a lively representation of the energy and conversation between the siblings.
For me, it had a YA feel in its overall tone – I don’t mean that as a negative at all, more that it was easy to read.
- Get your copy of People Person here;
- Published by Trapeze;
- 343 pages;
- My rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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