When we first meet Leon he is in hospital, but
he is fine; he is there as his mother has just given birth to his half-brother,
Jake. Leon is a sturdy nine-year-old, self-reliant, as he needs to be, as
neither his nor Jake’s father is around, and his mum Carole is a liability.
She cannot cope and eventually Leon and Jake
end up in care with foster-lady Maureen. All goes well for six months or so,
then a permanent placement is found for Jake – he is a baby and, unlike Leon,
white, which makes him easier to rehome. The separation from his baby brother
devastates Leon and he hatches a plan to reunite the family.
That will not be easy with Jake elsewhere in
London and Carol institutionalised in Bristol, so Leon starts accumulating the
things he will need – a map, baby stuff, and money filched from unguarded
handbags – in an increasingly heavy rucksack.
After another enforced change in fostering,
Leon discovers a local allotment and befriends a couple of plot holders, at
last male role models of a sort, though neither are ideal. Their potting sheds
provide another source for Leon’s pilfering.
Leon chooses a bad moment to make his move.
There is trouble on the streets with protests over the death of a black man at
police hands. It is scary out there for a ten-year-old, even if he has got a
gun in his rucksack!
It is all told from Leon’s viewpoint, which
maintains a tight focus, possibly at the expense of variety in voice and tone.
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