How does society leave children to cope with such adult challenges in modern Britain?

The Final Year

Written by: Matt Goodfellow

Illustrated by: Joe Todd-Stanton

Published by: Otter-Barry books

Published on: September 2023

Price: £8.99

First line: Ya need to be able to pin this down

So ya can see it in your mind as it plays out – picture where its happenin

Genre: Coming of age, school, family, friendship, prose

Thanks to my school for recommending this book. I bought it online.

What’s it all about? Nate is in Year 6 at Primary school and this story is about how he transitions in from Year 5 and his experiences of Year 6. It involves his friendship changes, his tricky family situation, his brother’s illness, his growing love of poetry and writing, his relationship with his new class teacher and finally the difficulties of growing up in modern Britain.

Why should I read it? Written entirely in prose, it was tricky for me to get into at first, but the depth of characterisation was so intense that soon I was hooked. The journey that Nate goes through and the things he deals with in his life are amazing for a 10 year old. I was emotionally attached by the end and found his brother’s illness tricky to read. A beautiful book of friendship, hope and a love of words.