posted on 20 Aug 2024

The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

It is a challenge for authors of children’s and young adult fiction who have an overriding message about the impact of disadvantage and poverty to avoid an off-putting ‘preachy’ tone. From David Almond through to Jacqueline Wilson and many more contemporary authors, this means focussing on presenting well-rounded characters and a compelling plot to keep the reader on side.

I was impressed with this one by an author / illustrator who has a clearly stated concern about child poverty, because I really liked the main character, Will, who is thoroughly fed up with living his difficult and often boring life. He is fortunate to have a solid relationship with his dad who is currently unemployed due to an accident at work. Circumstances mean that they now live in a grotty, cold flat and sometimes rely on using the local food bank. Dad even gets involved with a menacing loan-shark who has a reputation for making vulnerable people feel very scared. Will veers from feeling resigned and hopeless to expressing physical anger and deep frustration. He also gets on well with his mum who lives a marginally better life with her boyfriend in another part of town - they always make him feel welcome when he visits.

School is very difficult for boys like Will because other children notice the many effects of poverty, including his cheap, broken shoes and bad haircut. He also has to put up with Chris and his gang who bully him relentlessly, calling him ‘Poundland’ and feels humiliated when some teachers treat him unsympathetically. But he does have one good friend, Cameron, and an empathetic art teacher who recognises his drawing talent and gives him encouragement and support. Away from school he has a strangely magical encounter with a huge silvery owl who appears several times during the story, which makes him aware of the beauty of nature and provides inspiration for creating a much admired painting. This made me think of similar intense and mystical relationships between the boy and the bird in ‘A Kestrel for a Knave’ by Barry Hines and the boy and the creature in ‘Skellig’ by David Almond. In all three stories, there is something big and imposing to influence how one copes with bleak everyday reality.

What is very special about this book is the way in which the dramatic black and white illustrations are used throughout to amplify key emotional moments. They slow down both Will and the reader, and so help to concentrate on the need to take control, reflect, make good choices and then proceed with caution.

I strongly recommend this powerful and eventful story published by Simon & Schuster. It should be available in your local independent bookshop, who will happily order it for you if not already on their shelves.

 

Karen Argent

August 2024