Owen has not seen his Dad for two years.
His mum has not been right ever since. Most days she stays in bed or on the sofa. Owen cares for her and their home. Owen is a small boy with a huge heart. His pain seeps out of the words@of his story and you cannot help but love him and want to help him.
Owen has one confidant. A crumbling stone soldier in the memorial garden at the local park. Owen often sits with him and talks to him about his worries. Owen worries a lot. One thing he struggles with is speaking out in class. It makes him anxious. His teacher sees potential in him.
Owen writes well and his teacher wants him to write and perform a poem for the opening ceremony of the new school library. The thought of it fills Owen with dread. He cannot do it. But then Owen finds out that his soldier in the park may be being taken away.
The memorial garden is being revamped. Owen is angry & scared. He fears that the stone soldier will be taken & he will be left on his own again. Owen writes to the local newspaper and the council trying to save the soldier but nothing works. Then he finds out that the local councillor will be at the poetry reading and Owen decides that he will write and read a poem after all. He will stand up for his soldier. He will find the courage to speak out for what he believes in. This whole story is incredibly powerful dealing with loss, grief, poverty, young carers, social anxiety & remembrance.
Each subplot is interweaved seamlessly & as the different elements come together in the incredibly emotional conclusion I could not read@for crying. Owen is so incredibly brave. He stands up for the stone soldier, for his father and for the honour & remembrance of all soldiers. Owen stands up for his mum and supports her when she cannot support herself.
This young boy is incredible & while Owen is a fictional boy he represents so many children like him who care for their grown ups, who struggle with anxiety & who have lost a parent. Lisa Thompson’s writing is stunning. Esther, William & I read this together in one sitting. We just had to know what happened next. Would Owen save his soldier? Would Owen save his mum? A stunning story for older readers.