My Name Is Leon Synopsis
A TIMES and INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE IRISH NOVEL PRIZE Soon to be a major BBC film starring Sir Lenny Henry, Malachi Kirby, Monica Dolan, Olivia Williams and Christopher Eccleston.
It's 1981, a year of riots and royal weddings. The Dukes of Hazzard is on TV. Curly Wurlys are in the shops. And trying to find a place in it all is nine-year-old Leon. He and his little brother Jake have gone to live with Maureen. They've lost one home, but have they found another?
Maureen feeds and looks after them. She has wild red hair and mutters swearwords under her breath when she thinks they can't hear. She claims everything will be okay. But will they ever see their mother again? Who are the couple who secretly visit Jake? Between the street violence and the street parties, Leon must find a way to reunite his family.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780241973387 |
| Publication date: |
6th April 2017 |
| Author: |
Kit de Waal |
| Publisher: |
Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
262 pages |
| Suitable For: |
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| Other Genres: |
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Kit de Waal Press Reviews
'Tender and heart-breaking' - Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
'A beautiful story told with compassion, urgency and wit' - Stephen Kelman, author of the Booker-shortlisted Pigeon English
'Vivid and endearing - a very powerful book' - Emma Healey, bestselling author of Elizabeth is Missing
'Leon is pure goodwill in a wicked world, and he won't leave you when you put this unique book down. Authentic and beautiful, urgent and honest, this novel does what only the best do: it quietly makes room in your heart. At the end of the story I couldn't bear to close the book on Leon. I felt I was abandoning him. I wanted to talk about it straight away with someone else who'd read it, and I know a great many readers will feel the same.' - Chris Cleave, bestselling author of The Other Hand
'Beautiful and heartbreaking - I cried buckets of tears for Leon and his family' - Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love
'The unforgettable story of a boy struggling to belong, and the author captures both his mindset and the period impeccably. Heartbreaking and uplifting - just read it' - Daily Mail
'Everything in My Name Is Leon rings true. It's an everyday story and this actually makes it more powerful: these are the lows and joys of real life. Someone will be living them as you read' - Emerald Street
'Beguiling, tender, funny, compassionate ... entirely heartbreaking without being bleak' - Sunday Express
About Kit de Waal
Kit de Waal was born in Birmingham to an Irish mother, who was a childminder and foster carer and a Caribbean father. She worked for fifteen years in criminal and family law, was a magistrate for several years and sits on adoption panels. She used to advise Social Services on the care of foster children, and has written training manuals on adoption, foster care and judgecraft for members of the judiciary. Her writing has received numerous awards including the Bridport Flash Fiction Prize 2014 and 2015 and the SI Leeds Literary Reader's C hoice Prize 2014 and the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year.
My Name is Leon, her first novel was published in 2016 and shortlisted for the Costa Book Award. She has two children and lives in the West Midlands.
More About Kit de Waal
