With thanks to Gail for providing me a copy of this read for a Bobs and Books honest review. Huxley is a character you do not want to miss out on meeting.
Detangling the plot-
I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. And Breaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.
Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?
Funny and compassionate, this contemporary novel for adults explores issues of belonging, friendship and what it means to trust.
Bobs and Books honest review: Awww, I challenge you not to fall in love with Huxley immediately. He is one, sweet, attentive, little boy. A clever concept where Huxley takes centre stage and delights throughout. A gorgeous tale with lots of gossip, and Huxley really does appear to absorb everything.
Parents of children aged 4-9 will love this, parents with older children will feel nostalgic.
His unscrambling of long words (ooh I wonder what he'd make of unscrambling!) is really endearing and his innocence in fraught situations shines through even at the toughest of times.
This is packed too with excellent surrounding characters. His parents relationship is very amusing to read and the way they bicker is true to life yet brings more to the story too. Leonard is also intriguing as his story unfolds.
This is a perfect escapism read into Huxley's world, and I sincerely hope that there will be a sequel as I'd like to know how this little one grows up.
About the author:
Gail Aldwin is a novelist, poet and scriptwriter. Her debut coming-of-age novel The String Games was a finalist in The People’s Book Prize and the DLF Writing Prize 2020. Following a stint as a university lecturer, Gail’s children’s picture book Pandemonium was published. Gail loves to appear at national and international literary and fringe festivals. When she’s not gallivanting around the place, Gail writes at her home overlooking water meadows in Dorset.
This Much Huxley Knows is released on 8 July.
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