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A review by kba76
The Boy Who Lived in the Ceiling by Cara Thurlbourn
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this before publication.
When you think of someone who is homeless you are likely to have a very specific image in your head. You may have some ideas of how they came to be in that position, but how does it impact on people on a daily basis? In The Boy Who Lived in the Ceiling we are encouraged to see a little deeper.
Our two characters are Violet and Freddie. Violet is about to start a new school; after the death of her grandmother her family can’t afford private school for both her and her brother. Freddie has been homeless for months, and all we know is that it has something to do with his father’s alcoholism and his stepmother.
Ignoring the plausibility element, Freddie finds himself living in the attic of Violet’s home while they are on holiday. He wants to save money to find a room to rent. When Violet discovers him (when he saves her from a phone overly keen young boy invited over while her parents are away) she doesn’t react in the way you’d expect. She finds a way to support him.
What follows may be unlikely, but it made for a positive story in spite of covering some pretty unpleasant stuff. It helps that those concerned are seemingly decent characters, trying to do the right thing and trying hard.
When you think of someone who is homeless you are likely to have a very specific image in your head. You may have some ideas of how they came to be in that position, but how does it impact on people on a daily basis? In The Boy Who Lived in the Ceiling we are encouraged to see a little deeper.
Our two characters are Violet and Freddie. Violet is about to start a new school; after the death of her grandmother her family can’t afford private school for both her and her brother. Freddie has been homeless for months, and all we know is that it has something to do with his father’s alcoholism and his stepmother.
Ignoring the plausibility element, Freddie finds himself living in the attic of Violet’s home while they are on holiday. He wants to save money to find a room to rent. When Violet discovers him (when he saves her from a phone overly keen young boy invited over while her parents are away) she doesn’t react in the way you’d expect. She finds a way to support him.
What follows may be unlikely, but it made for a positive story in spite of covering some pretty unpleasant stuff. It helps that those concerned are seemingly decent characters, trying to do the right thing and trying hard.