A huge thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. This book has already created quite a buzz, though it’s not due for publication until early June 2016, and I was keen to read it.
The synopsis is quite straightforward. Nine year old Leon and his younger brother Jake are taken into care when their mother’s inability to care for them is revealed. Sent to live with Maureen, the boys experience genuine care for the first time – but Maureen cannot give them the one thing Leon craves, his mother’s love. When Social Services arrange for baby Jake – who is white – to be adopted, Leon is left stranded. He seeks solace in the local allotments, but spends most of his time trying to cope with what is happening to him.
This could have been a heart-breaking misery-fest. What we get instead is a heart-warming story, told through the eyes of an insightful young boy. The contrast between Leon’s home life-that he spends most of the book trying to think about how to return to-and the care he receives from Maureen angered me. It made me so frustrated that the family could be in this situation. I also have to admit to getting irritated by Carol. I appreciate that her mental health issues were crippling, but in many ways she seemed so much more immature than her son and I desperately wanted her to step up to her responsibilities.
I think this is the kind of story that will resonate with readers, and I can certainly think of one or two people that I will recommend this to.