Although I love a good cry, stories about kids that are forced into an adult world by circumstance, are my undoing. It’s the small details – little kids getting their own dinner (cold baked beans because they’re not allowed to use the stove); kids missing school to care for younger siblings or their parents; fibbing to hide their home situation… these are the things that make my heart ache.

So Leon, the main character in Kit de Waal’s debut novel, My Name is Leon, was crushing. Leon is nine and his mother, Carol, is not coping with the birth of her second baby, Jake. Neither Jake’s father nor Leon’s father are on the scene and their neighbour, Tina, is kind but can’t give the family the emotional and financial assistance they need – Continue reading →