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Alfie Piper has six weeks of summer ahead, but since his mum died, his world has unravelled. The silence between him and his increasingly estranged stepdad sits heavy, so he does the only thing that makes sense – he grabs his bike and rides around on the seven hills of Sheffield, alone. His friends struggle to bridge the chasm created by his experience of grief, and while his Dad does his best to hold things together, the days feel lonely. In these long summer days, Alfie has to figure out if he can rebuild what has been broken, as a raw and emotive journey sits ahead of him.

The talented duo of Matt Goodfellow and Joe Todd-Stanton are back, this time exploring a boy’s grief and his journey to rebuild his world after life-changing bereavement. Many readers will have adored The Final Year and The First Year, which have become seminal transition texts and brought verse novels beautifully into the spotlight they deserve.  Six Weeks is a standalone story written in the same emotion-packed verse novel style that will meet readers’ now high expectations.

Matt is an exceptional storyteller, and his use of verse is incredibly effective at conveying Alfie’s internal world. Joe’s illustrations are equally powerful. The backdrop of the Peaks – with places like Castleton and, fittingly, Hope, providing space for Alfie to process his journey –  serves as a suitable reminder of the undulating reality of Alfie’s emotional landscape.

The relationship between Alfie and his stepdad is handled with great sensitivity, as layer by layer they shed the complexities of their past to unite toward a brighter future, without ever glibly smoothing over the jagged edges of their relationship. Raw but entirely hopeful, Six Weeks is a must-read for Upper KS2 and KS3.