Tag James Fox

Boy vs Reality

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Boy vs Reality
James Fox
Scholastic

Ethan Lacey’s family – mum, dad and elder brother Mason – are influencers. They film pretty much everything they do and upload it onto their vlog, Meet the Laceys. However Ethan detests the performative nature of his life at home and doesn’t even consider them a proper family, let alone a perfect one, any longer. All they’re obsessed with is ‘likes’ and pleasing their million subscribers, not real life. Real life is not just about freebies and having fun. Ethan has Fidget, a toy monster with a zipped mouth that he keeps in his pocket. He writes all his worries on paper and feeds them to Fidget and it’s no surprise that Fidget is nearly full.

Then Mason posts his first video on his own channel showing Ethan reacting to a ridiculous prank he’d set up concerning news of an alien invasion. Some days later Mason posts another video entitled Secrets From My Brother’s Anxiety Toy’. It’s time for Ethan to retaliate.

Add to all this the fact that Mum and Dad Lacey have been arguing a lot for some while and have decided to get divorced. That’s an awful lot for anybody to cope with and that’s without visits to Grandad at Sycamore Village when it’s likely as not he won’t even remember who Ethan is.

With cracks appearing all the time Ethan is set on persuading his family to focus on fixing the real world and not so obsessively on the online one. Can he do it?

Funny and full of heart, this is a hugely moving story about the importance of making the most of real, everyday life and its highs and lows. With children becoming ever more screen obsessed, it’s a timely book showing the adverse effects social media can have on people, whatever their age.

The Boy in the Suit

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The Boy in the Suit
James Fox
Scholastic

Ten year old Solo and his mum, Morag, frequently gate crash the get togethers held after funerals, the reason being, after losing her job, Solo’s mum doesn’t have sufficient money to buy food for them both and otherwise they’d be hungry all the time. Solo hates having to do this, detests wearing the over-sized suit from a charity shop, and going to school without the correct uniform resulting in him getting into trouble. He also hates the way his mum begs for food from the local shop and lies to get free bus rides. Worst of all though is when his mum spends several days in bed on account of the Big Bad Reds, (BBRs) and spends any money she has on what she calls ‘grown-up’ drinks. As a result, the poor boy stands out for all the wrong reasons. Despite everything though he really loves his mum.

Then one day the two of them go to a funeral of somebody famous, suspicions are aroused and they end up being featured in a newspaper and on the internet. Solo then gets called FB at school, his Mum gets him to make a dash from a school uniform shop, stealing a new uniform and is caught on CCTV.

Eventually everything gets just too much for Morag and she disappears. After several days there’s still no sign of her so Solo and his new friend Chetna sneak off during a school trip to search for her, looking in all the places the boy knows Morag likes, but with no luck. They end up missing the coach home and Chetna feels she must tell the teachers what’s happened. Despite all the awful things that he’s gone through, might this now be where Solo’s life finally starts to improve?

This is a hugely moving, compelling and empathetic story for older readers (and adults) that portrays with stark clarity the cost of living crisis, what it’s like living with a parent who has mental health problems.and having to be a young carer. Full of poignant and compassionate moments, there’s also humour and messages about the importance of friendship, resilience and finding the courage to accept help.