S. E. Durrant

Excellent book about being a kid in care in London, with a younger brother and a hopeful heart. Ira (Miracle) and Zach spend a couple of years in the late 80s at Skilly House, a children's home and this is the story of that time. Diary-like entries, lists, Ira's matter of fact sense of humor, and keen observational eye. Some great things happen, some sad things (a dog dies in an accident), but they endure and eventually thrive, as they meet someone who's got a couple of child-shaped holes in her life. An interesting insight into how the British Care system works. Great read.… (mehr)

A.J. loves to run. He lives in London with his intellectually disabled parents and spends his free time running track with his grandfather. His grandfather is the center of the family and takes care of everyone. But when Grandad passes away, A.J. has to try harder and harder to keep up in school, try out for school track and take care of his parents. A.J. has an authentic tween voice. The British slang colors the setting but might confuse American juvenile readers. A fast relatable read for fans of kids overcoming family crisis and personal drama. Recommended for grades 5 and up.… (mehr)

Very gut wrenching book about a boy called C.J. who has 2 parents with learning difficulties and (I suspect) certain social anxiety disorders. All the bills and utilities were looked after by C.J's grandfather but now he has died and the burden of trying to keep the electricity and water on and go to school, now falls on C.J.s shoulders. To deal with the grief and the worry C.J. does what he and his grandfather always did - he runs. But soon his shoes are worn through and there is no money to buy new ones and he is too embarrassed to tell his PE teacher in case "welfare" come and take him away.
This is a very moving and powerful story of coping with life and death....how keeping things inside is not always the best course of action and how normal teenage angst can be exacerbated by other family dramas. Having parents who can't read and can barely work - CJ's mum stacks supermarket shelves at night and his Dad just does the gardening - compounds all the sorrow C.J. feels after his grandfather passes away.
Luckily...SPOILER ALERT...CJ has a bright teacher and an Aunty who work out what is going on and vow to help.… (mehr)

Ira and Zac have lived in foster homes since they were babies and now they have been sent to live in an orphanage. In the orphanage, kids come and go, and pretty soon Ira and Zac are the oldest. They begin to wonder if they will ever be adopted, until they get invited to spend a week in the country with a friendly lady named Martha. Ira fears Zac has messed things up with his clumsiness, so when they return to life at the orphanage, Ira can only hope that Martha saw the good in them.

Writing style is similar to Sharon Creech.… (mehr)