Publishing year: 2017
This is the first book I am going to read in the new year.
From the moment I started reading the first few pages it hooked me. We are introduced to Jonah, a seven-year-old boy, who is from Kenya. Jonah is travelling to London with a man he calls Mr Sir. His mother is left in Kenya, and Jonah knows that his mother wants him to go with Mr Sir to learn how to be a real gentleman. The few things that we know about Jonah’s mother is that she is quite religious, and Jonah also mentions all the Mr Sirs that his mum knows, so I wonder if the woman is a prostitute.
When they get to London, Jonah notices that Mr Sir is very nervous. The man talks to a woman he calls ‘my love’, who Jonah thinks is his mum, but we can guess that it is the man’s family. From what we understand in these pages, they were supposed to be met by someone, but she doesn’t turn up. So before Jonah knows what is happening, he sees Mr Sir leaving the airport with his luggage. Then a security guard at the airport notices the boy, and when he realises that he is alone, he calls the police and social services. The social worker that comes to talk to Jonah is Trudi, who like Jonah came to England from Africa, in particular Uganda, when she was a child, and her uncle and aunt raised her. Jonah doesn’t tell Trudi much, and he lies about not having a mum.
The novel fluctuates between present and past. Five months later Jonah is living with his foster carer Julie and her daughter Mimi. They are trying to find him adopted parents, and Jonah goes to his first adoption event. In this function we get to meet Rosie and Sam, who have been trying to have a family for years. Rosie can’t have children, and everything they have tried before has not worked, so they are hopeful to adopt a child. In this event Rosie falls in love with a five-year-old blonde little girl, called Lucy, but there is another woman who is also interested in Lucy, and so far it seems that the little girl has taken a liking to the other woman.
Cathy, who is Sam and Rosie’s social worker, tells Sam that they need to spread their search for the ideal child. Sam knows that Rosie wants Lucy, and he is ready to do what she wants as with all the disappointments he feels that he has lost part of the woman he first fell in love with. Sam then gets to meet Jonah when the boy tries to run away. Jonah doesn’t want to find new parents since he just wants his real mother. Sam and Jonah talk for a bit and the man convinces the child to get back inside. From that moment Sam feels drawn to the boy, and even though he tries to direct Rosie’s attention to Jonah, she has only eyes for Lucy.
Lovely start. I think this is going to be a very emotional read. I can’t wait to see what happens to Jonah and this lovely couple. I am intrigued to know who Mr Sir is and why he left the boy at the airport all alone.
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