The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow illustrated by Joe Todd Stanton

that next year will be tough ...

that it's time to knuckle down and focus

that it's all worth it in the end

that it's the most important year of our 

lives so far and we need to act like it ...

that it's time for us to step up and become top of the school

that it's the final year.

You can feel the tone of this writing from this extract near the beginning of the book. It feels a little like a rap song:

See the take-aways and neon-washed litter?

The disfigured pigeons 

huddled under railway bridges and flyovers?

Taxis buses pizza-boxes vape shops?

This is not a place of labradors and lattes and electric Audis

this is a place of staffies and cider

and exhaust-pipe smoke,

a place of one foot in front of the other brother

cos what else ya goona do?

Nathan Wilder (Nate) has two brothers, Dylan aged nearly four and Jaxon aged eight, and each of them has a different dad. Mum had Nate when she was just seventeen. Money is very short but mum is sure she can win at the bingo. Mum also likes to drink. Nate didn't ever meet his dad he just knows his name was Nick and he looks a little like Jesus. Jaxon's dad was a bully and a bouncer and he liked beer, lots of beer. He is now in jail. No one is sure about Dylan's dad. Dylan loves spiderman and he a kid always on the move. Nate loves his brothers, but Nate is also battling his own very serious anger issues. 

Early on we discover, just four little words my pile of books to show Nate is a reader (and a writer). Nate sleeps in the lounge room of their tiny flat - how does a kid like this have books? Why are the books hidden? Later we read "when I need to chill I head to the library." and "I've read everything I can find by David Almond. ... His style like music like poetry." Nate especially loved The Colour of the Sun. (I have added it to my own to read list). Then joy of joys the book his Grade 6 class will study is Skellig.

Notice the title - The Final Year. It is the final year of Primary. Nate has one great mate Parker Smith or PS. But when the new classes are formed the friends are separated. PS seems to have perfect life. Clean house, parents with jobs, food - regular stuff. Nate on the other hand has, in some ways, become a parent to his two young brothers.

Mum's out cold still

the morning after Bingo

so I get the boys ready

like I've done a thousand times before.

At the end of Gade 5 Nate and his class visit the room where they will go next year:

The classroom 

belongs to the old Year 6

stinks of 'em

and I mean stinks.

Their fadin name-tags are peeling off drawers

their work is all over the walls

Nate gets the new teacher Mr Joshua. He has no idea but this is so wonderful. Mr Joshua may be very inexperienced, but he is so wise and he offers gentle and caring support to Nate. He also loves to include music into his classroom which made me cheer. 

The other issue at school is Turner - the school bully and his gang. And now PS seems to be friends with Turner. 

Turner's no learner

he'll fight and he'll burn ya

he's done things that can't be forgiven.

Turner man, Turner

those fists gonna earn ya

a stay in triangular prison.

It is heart breaking to witness the disintegration of the friendship between Nate and PS. Thank goodness for his new friend Caleb. Then everything changes because Dylan is really unwell - seriously very very unwell. You will gasp over these scenes.

How can my head

be so full of stuff, Sir

so full of sadness

so full of questions

so full of danger

so full of pain

yet I am so empty?

Here is a description from their journey to the school camp in Windermer:

As we get closer

the hills are whiter than they looked

snow everywhere

like someone's laid down feathers

on the shoulders of a new world.

This book will break your heart and then mend it again. Please try to find this book and read it then give it to your young readers aged 10+ or pop it on display in your school library. This is one of those truly special books that needs to be in the hands of readers. This might be my book of the year. Teachers will love Mr Joshua and also the subtle commentary about the idiocy of state testing of our students - hooray! When you share this book make sure you find the music for "Every little things gonna be all right" (Bob Marley) and play it with the sound up LOUD. Here are some very detailed teaches notes. Matt Goodfellow introduces his book.

Carnegie shadow judges' notes say:

The Final Year is about …

 • The importance of friendship

 • How it is possible to control your anger

 • The power of writing

 • Putting family above everything else

 • How teachers can be inspirational

 • Growing up

 • How tough life is for some young people

 • Putting a brave face on things

 • The importance of kindness

A poignant exploration of change and loss. Nate struggles to come to terms with the changes facing him in his home and school life during his final year at primary school. His best friend moves class and his home life becomes increasingly uncertain after the tumult and turmoil of his brother being rushed into hospital. Can Nate find his place among a fast-changing world?

Highly accessible, lyrical and life affirming, this is a must-have novel that will authentically resonate with so many under-represented children and perfectly captures what this crucial transition period feels like. As such, it is a must-read for adults as well as the children who will devour it. It will also resonate with children who have made that transition and perhaps help them with their own feelings, as well as encouraging them to write for themselves. Love Reading 4Kids

This incredibly powerful novel, written entirely in free verse, really packs a punch. Nate’s innermost thoughts burst from the pages, enabling readers to really connect with his intense feelings of pain, anger and love. Thoughtful black-and-white illustrations punctuate the text of this spectacular debut novel, which is a heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting read. Book Trust

Next step for me is to find the sequel published early in 2025 because the final words of The Final Year are ... 

Companion book:

Motormouth (now out of print but is sure to be in many Australian school libraries)