The Storybarn Selects… From The Reader Bookshelf

The Reader Bookshelf 2024 is a carefully curated collection of literature for adults and children, exploring a different theme each year, this year’s theme ‘Wonder’ is about being bold, being curious and being open. Staff and volunteers around the country have selected 12 titles for children which explore what 'Wonder' means to them.

This month, Associate Director of Programme Delivery, Kara, shares her thoughts on Matt Goodfellow’s The Final Year.

I am always intrigued by a book that offers something different, something that excites me, something that makes me question everything that I thought I knew about children’s books and Matt Goodfellow’s The Final Year is definitely one of those!

Its format as a verse novel drew me in immediately; the rhythm, the energy, the in your face narration from Nate as he introduces us to his neighbourhood, to his family, to his school, was totally captivating. I was in, I was invested from that very first chapter.

Nate loves reading, he loves writing, he is a huge David Almond fan and has been spending his summer holiday down at the library, reading everything he can find by his favourite author “The stories take me / to sea / and sand / and big open skies / to places I’ve never been.” When September starts and not only is Nate placed in a class without his best friend, PS, but PS starts hanging out with class bully, Turner, there are tricky times ahead in more ways than one. I particularly enjoyed the ‘story within the story’ and how the wonder that Nate feels as Mr Joshua shares Skellig, weaves its way through the book alongside his own story.

Nate’s isn’t a traditional family home, it its complex and tangled, and at times, fraught with worry. It’s clear that Mum is trying her best, but has struggles of her own; here are a family that are used to doing without. One thing that is never in short supply though, is love. Love is absolutely bursting from this book! The relationship between Nate and his two younger brothers is beautifully written, as is the gentle, yet ever present character of Mr Joshua, who clearly sees something special in Nate, nurturing his talents with support and encouragement. “And when I read mine out / he watches me really closely / and when I finish / he lets out a deep breath, Nate, you’re just like me.”

I certainly found it refreshing to see representation of a family unit that’s far from perfect, this is a Northern, working class family (How often do we see those represented in children’s books?!) but don’t be mistaken into thinking that The Final Year is just another depiction of the age old stereotype that it’s ‘grim up North’. It would be easy to make The Final Year sound like a story of child poverty, hopelessness and limited life chances, but it’s far more than that. It’s a joyful and life affirming story of possibility and potential, of hope, resilience and love.