I chose this book because I liked the title, Ice Cream. I also liked the art on the cover, which is a picture of an ice cream sundae dish and spoon, with the title spelled out in ice cream colours. I can imagine the first letter is watermelon, the second is mint, then pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, then mint, pineapple and strawberry again. Yum.

I also liked the short stories in Ice Cream, which were written by Helen Dunmore. Some stories I liked more than others, but I suppose that is true of ice cream flavours too. I like chocolate ice cream, love English toffee ice cream but wouldn’t eat bubblegum flavoured ice cream if you paid me.

I particularly liked the first story, ‘My Polish Teacher’s Tie’, where the narrator, Carla, gathers her courage and makes a friend. The title story, ‘Ice Cream,’ is about a model who has a craving for ice cream, and makes the reader think about what they are prepared to give up in order to acheive their ends.  ‘Mason’s Mini Break’ is a lesson about vanity. ‘Emily’s Ring’ is a sad, sad story, and Helen Dunmore is an amazing writer to have told it in so few words.

Some of these short stories are very, very short. They are also very easy to read, but will leave you with something to think about.