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What to expect

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'Original, compulsive, uplifting: this is another triumph for Balen' - Alex O'Connell, The Times Children's Book of the Week

'Balen's best book yet: ambitious, funny, spirited, moving, heartfelt and bold all at once. She's a force to be reckoned with' - Ross Montgomery
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From the author of October, October, winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal 2022, comes a life-affirming story about blended families and learning to find room in your heart for new life and new love.

Tom is still quiet and timid, even though his dad has been gone for nearly two years now.

Zofia is the opposite. Inside her there’s a raging storm that makes her want to fight the whole world until she gets what she wants.

And what she wants is for scaredy-cat Tom to get out of her life. Tom hates loud, unpredictable Zofia just as much, but he’s moving into Zofia’s house. Because his mum and Zofia’s dad are in love … and they’re having a baby.

Tom and Zofia both wish the stupid baby had never happened. But then Tom’s mum gets ill, and it begins to look horribly like their wish might come true …

A story of learning to trust, trying to let go and diving into the unknown with hope in your heart, with a stunning cover illustrated by CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal winner Sydney Smith.
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Critics Review

  • I love Katya Balen’s clear-eyed, poetic writing style, first encountered in The Space We’re In and October, October. She has a special ability to dig deep into the emotional lives of the children she writes about; she is always privy to their darkest thoughts, always on their side. Original, compulsive, uplifting: this is another triumph for Balen.

    The Times Children's Book of the Week

  • This is Balen’s best book yet: ambitious, funny, spirited, moving, heartfelt and bold all at once. She’s a force to be reckoned with

    Ross Montgomery

  • This story literally took me by storm. A brave heart-dive into the deep emotions of Tom and Zofia, it’s beautifully told with care and tenderness

    Jasbinder Bilan

  • I loved this book. The deftness with which Katya creates such passionate, funny, broken, brave characters. What an achievement. Katya Balen can break your heart and make you snort with laughter in the same sentence

    Natasha Farrant

  • Katya Balen is rapidly becoming one of my favourite writers. This is a beautiful book that will capture you from the first page. An incredible book by an incredible writer. I loved it

    Lisa Thompson

  • A bold, bright story of blended families, and how two remarkable children cope when their lives change dramatically. Katya Balen’s writing fizzes with her trademark originality and voice. This is another stunningly good read from one of my favourite authors

    Emma Carroll

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