Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker

Book of the Week: 11 October 2020

A book for anyone who has ever felt different, left-out or misunderstood.

Ware is happy in a world of his own imagining, but when his grandmother has a fall and his parents need him taken care of for the summer, he rebels and skips attendance at the community centre chose by them, to spend his days in the grounds of the ruined church next door. It is here that he meets the fierce Jolene who is planting a garden in old snack cans and who treats the place as her private kingdom. After a brief power struggle, they pool their talent and start to transform the waste ground and the disused building; but the ‘real world’ begins to encroach on their refuge and they may be powerless to stop it.

This has all the charm and conviction of Sara Pennypacker’s book Pax and would be a good choice if you like books such as Liar and Spy or Wonder.