Up Above the City Book Review

The author of THE LIGHTNING CATCHER is back with an imaginative and heartfelt middle grade novel perfect for fans of Boy Everywhere and The Crossing.

From the author

This story is about displacement, and the uncertainty following family separation. It spotlights the protagonist’s fascination with the adult world via an owl’s eye view. It deals with learning to be responsible, juggling other people’s secrets and safety, trust, and above all, friendship. Together, these experiences reduce the impact of problems you can’t alter. They change your perspective and can work like a miracle. Jake discovers a secret about London and witnesses an astounding scientific breakthrough. The strength of this feeds into the way he feels about his own future.

Up Above the City is a thought‑provoking novel that blends contemporary realism with intriguing science‑fiction elements, resulting in a story that is as heartfelt as it is original.

At the heart of the story is Jake, a quiet and well‑meaning boy whose Christmas holidays are off to a miserable start. With his parents in the midst of separating and an accident at his holiday club leaving him excluded, Jake must spend his days in the staffroom of the London bank where his mum has started a new job. Bored and lonely, Jake begins photographing the city skyline—until he spots a mysterious girl in a window that shouldn’t exist.

What follows is a gripping and surprising tale built around Jake’s growing friendship with Laine, a girl hiding in a disused storeroom and waiting anxiously for her scientist father to return. When Jake investigates, convinced he wasn’t imagining her, he learns that Laine and her dad have been forced into hiding and that the secret they carry is extraordinary. Laine’s father has broken the law in Estonia, dangerous people are searching for them, and most astonishingly of all, Laine has access to a pill that turns her invisible! Their search for her missing father takes them into a hidden world woven through the rooftops and attics of London’s financial district. Here, Jake discovers homeless and refugee families living in desperate, makeshift communities. This layer of the story is handled with great empathy, offering young readers a human perspective on immigration and displacement that encourages reflection and compassion.

As Jake and Laine’s mission becomes more dangerous, Jake must decide how far he is willing to go for his friend, including taking his own enormous risk. When Laine is captured, Jake’s bravery and loyalty shine, and he learns that sometimes the quietest children can find the greatest courage.The plot is tense and engaging whilst acknowledging that real‑world issues, such as family separation, homelessness, immigration, don’t have easy endings. Jake’s determination to do what’s right, makes him an especially relatable hero for children who may be navigating family changes or feeling overlooked in the adult world.