My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal – 3 Stars

[Hannah]

Leon is nine years old, and living with his Mum and baby brother Jake. When his Mum struggles to cope, Leon looks after Jake, and when the neighbour finds out, Leon and Jake are taken into foster care. Jake, who is white and a baby, is adopted, but Leon is not, leaving him both angry and confused. This is a heart-breaking story as Leon tells how his family falls apart, and shows his experience in the foster care system. Leon’s life, despite his sorrows, is not all bad. I really liked Leon’s foster Mum, Maureen, who is steadfast in her love for and support of Leon, and when she becomes ill and unable to look after him, Maureen’s sister Sylvia is there to care for Leon. The main characters are well-developed and believable and, set in Britain in the 1980s, this book is a social and political commentary of working-class Britain and race at that time, with the author showing much of the prejudice and racial discrimination through Leon’s eyes.