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My Name Is Leon Kit de Waal

My Name Is Leon By Kit de Waal

My Name Is Leon by Kit de Waal

Reviews:
$18,99
Condition - Very Good
Only 1 left
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My Name Is Leon Summary

My Name Is Leon by Kit de Waal

**AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER**

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2016**

'Unforgettable, heartbreaking and uplifting - just read it' Daily Mail

'My debut of the year so far... heartbreaking and warm at the same time' Stylist

'Authentic and beautiful, urgent and honest, this novel does what only the best do: it quietly makes room in your heart' Chris Cleave, bestselling author of The Other Hand

**

A brother chosen. A brother left behind. And a family where you'd least expect to find one.

Leon is nine, and has a perfect baby brother called Jake. They have gone to live with Maureen, who has fuzzy red hair like a halo, and a belly like Father Christmas. But the adults are speaking in low voices, and wearing Pretend faces. They are threatening to give Jake to strangers. Since Jake is white and Leon is not.

As Leon struggles to cope with his anger, certain things can still make him smile - like Curly Wurlys, riding his bike fast downhill, burying his hands deep in the soil, hanging out with Tufty (who reminds him of his dad), and stealing enough coins so that one day he can rescue Jake and his mum.

Evoking a Britain of the early eighties, My Name is Leon is a heart-breaking story of love, identity and learning to overcome unbearable loss. Of the fierce bond between siblings. And how - just when we least expect it - we manage to find our way home.


'Powerful and gorgeously written... uplifting and full of hope' Good Housekeeping

My Name Is Leon Reviews

A brother chosen. A brother left behind. And a family where you'd least expect to find one * Publisher's description *
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'
A compelling story... Kit de Waal is to be congratulated -- Jane Shemilt, bestselling author of 'Daughter'
Hotly anticipated and heartbreaking... a great read...it's no mean feat for a debut to so perfectly capture the world through the eyes of a child...his illuminating child's eye view of adult affairs harks back to the likes of Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Sawyer and more recently Mark Haddon's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime -- Mariella Frostrup, BBC Radio 4
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 *
My debut of the year so far...heartbreaking and warm at the same time * Stylist *
A funny, sad and endearing debut * Psychologies *
Searing * The Times *
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 *
A touching, thought-provoking debut * Guardian *
Powerful and gorgeously written...may make you cry, but it's also uplifting and full of hope * Good Housekeeping *
Heart-breaking yet told with wit and compassion - I loved it * Woman and Home *
Full of small exquisite details, de Waal's novel is ultimately affirmative. But be warned - it's a bit of a weepie * Metro *
Deeply moving, compulsively readable and, despite the heart-rending subject matter, often funny * Irish Times *
The voice of Leon is distinctive, beguiling and ultimately compelling, resonant of the young narrators in Room or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time * RTE Guide *
Searing * T2 *
Beguiling, tender, funny, compassionate ... entirely heartbreaking without being bleak * Sunday Express *
Conjures the plight of children in care - and the Britain of the 1980s - with heartbreaking intensity * Harpers Bazaar *
It's a wonderful book. I really enjoyed it. It is extremely affecting -- Toby Lichtig
I think My Name is Leon is a really stand out novel -- Alex Clark
Simply told and never over-written * Emerald Street Top 10 Books of the Year *

About Kit de Waal

Kit de Waal, born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, was brought up among the Irish community of Birmingham in the 60's and 70's. Her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. Her second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women's Prize and her young adult novel Becoming Dinah is shortlisted for the Carnegie CLIP Award 2020. She also crowdfunded and edited an anthology of working class memoir, Common People, which was published in 2018. Kit was named the FutureBook Person of the Year in 2019.

Additional information

GOR007955003
9780241207093
0241207096
My Name Is Leon by Kit de Waal
Kit de Waal
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Penguin Books Ltd
20160531
272
Short-listed for Desmond Elliott Prize 2017 Short-listed for Costa First Novel Award 2016
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - My Name Is Leon