bionicsarah 's review for:

Going Home by Tom Lamont

5.0

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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A delight review to follow 
Oh my goodness, this book is a surprising delight This delicious  book sat on my to be read  pile in NetGalley UK for far too long. It is a really beautiful book.

The story follows little Joel who lives with his single mom in London. One day his mum asks an old school friend Teo to look after him for the day and never returns. Very sadly She committed suicide after having lady young life full of mental health struggles. 

Before all this happens, Teo is working hard at escaping his counsellor state upbringing. He has a job and a flat in central London which he loves his life is immediately sent upside down as he struggles with looking after the grieving little boy 

At the same time, his own father is declining from a neurological disease and Teo is torn between looking after an old man a young boy and trying to maintain his life as normal.

The comparison of the old man’s decline as the young boy grows is  very memorable. There are some difficult topics within this novel, but the author covers them with poise and  subtlety . This is a hopeful optimistic novel full of love looking at the way families can generate from the most unlikely starts.

It’s unusual for me to read a novel that has been published for as long as this one has it has been on my to be red Paul for awhile but since it was published in June 2024 this must’ve been added to Net UK rather late

The author has a beautiful flowing writing style. The book is an absolute pleasure to read. I particularly loved the very start of this book with a small boy and his small boy talk. The author so perfectly mimics the way a young child talk to himself as he plays .

Once the book got going, I was quickly immersed and read this book in one sitting not wanting to put it down

I like the way the book progressed from the initial disaster of the Mother’s death and I personally did not predict the ending as there was a little twist two thirds of  the way through

I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK in return for an unbiased review. The book was  published in the UK on the 6th of June 2024. I had and Stoughton.