Read for Empathy: The Boy in the Suit

The Boy in the Suit is a powerful story that explores the experience of living with depression, young carers and child poverty.  It is the story of 10-year-old Solo, who wants nothing more than to fit in – he yearns for security and dreams of a having a life like ‘everyone else’. But being the son of unconventional single parent Morag, who is having a difficult time, means that he is destined to stand out for the wrong reasons!

Things finally come to a head when the two of them are caught on camera crashing a funeral for the free food, and Solo’s humiliation is an overnight viral sensation. ‘Normal’ really couldn’t be further from Solo’s reach.

As the story unfolds, we feel Solo’s pain as he battles between the unconditional love that he feels for his mum and the growing embarrassment that he feels because of the way she acts and the resulting guilt – a lot of big feelings. It is important that children’s books tell a range of stories and include a diversity of people and worlds. This book bravely does just that – it is raw and heart breaking and at times difficult to read, but it covers themes of mental health, young carers and poverty in a moving and age-appropriate way.

The Boy in the Suit is a thought-provoking, emotional rollercoaster of a read. For some, it will provide an opportunity to make personal connections; for others, it will allow an important view of lives different from their own and the opportunity to develop compassion. This book has the potential to change the lives of young readers. Despite the young age of the protagonist, this book is more for the mature reader who is able to empathise with the complexity of the issues at heart.

More ideas for exploring the book:

• Discussing Mental Health: Pair the book with other stories about mental health awareness, like Why Do I Feel Like This?, The Worries, The Mystery of the Colour Thief or Not My Fault. Make a bank of words that different characters use to discuss emotions and display it for children to use as a reference. For more ideas, browse our Mental Health Primary Booklist or Emotional Literacy booklist.
• Lesson Plans: Download the free accompanying teacher resources available from the publisher, with a set of The Boy in the Suit lesson plans for Upper KS2.
• All Different Families: Find out more about young carers like Solo, or explore books with different family set-ups. For inspiration, head to our Family Diversity booklist.
• Going Viral: Explore the theme of overnight internet fame – is going viral all it’s cracked up to be? What might the positives and negatives of being a viral sensation be for a child? Check out other books about internet stardom, like Bad Influence, Count, Steady for This, The Boy Who Got Accidentally Famous and The Day My Dog Got Famous. You might also like our booklists about Internet Safety or Computing and Gaming.
• Explore the Empathy Collection: Take some time to explore the rest of the books in the 2025 Read for Empathy collection. More of our favourites include Luna Loves Gardening, My Name is a Gift, Bird Boy, On The Wall, The Wrong Shoes, Turtle Moon, Find Peace in a Poem and Keedie.