Occasionally we review books here – this is the second novel by our wonderful mentor, Rachel Faturoti. You can read more about Rachel on her own website: https://www.rachelfaturoti.com/about
Title: The Boy In The Smoke
Author: Rachel Faturoti
Suggested readership: ages 9 to 11
Themes and topics: history, workhouses, friendship, young carers, hidden poverty, time-slip, 19th century
When Isaiah lights up an old fireplace in the basement of his block of flats, he opens a channel of communication across time. The flickering fire and smoke connects Isaiah to another boy, Jacob, who lives in the 19th century. Jacob has a mystery he desperately needs Isaiah to help him solve so that he can escape the workhouse.
Isaiah, too, is living with many challenges in the present day – but he is trying to hide them from the world. Together, the boys work to discover what has happened to Jacob’s father. Will Isaiah be able to help Jacob, and crucially, accept help and friendship himself before something disastrous happens?
Although this novel has fantasy mechanics in the form of the time-crossing fire, in both time periods the roots of the story are deeply planted in the hard reality of poverty in one of the richest countries in the world. While this is a moving and interesting story of friendships developing, it is also educational, showing that things haven’t changed as much as they should have done over the years. Isaiah’s courage and positivity make him a likeable character, and the way he struggles to balance two different lives at school and home, is very relatable. The idea of making the fire itself – with its constantly moving, magical flames – the method of communicating across time, is a unique and exciting image that feels just right for the story. This would be a great buy for the school library or for a keen reader at Christmas. I thought it would pair especially well with A Christmas Carol because of the focus on the 19th century and the division between rich and poor.
– Leila Rasheed