The Other Shadow by Tania Ingram

Thomas is only ten at the start of this book, but his life is so complex. His dad has died and mum is not coping. There is no food at home and she often stays in bed all day. Thomas needs food for himself and his little sister, who is only two years old, so he is forced to beg and steal. Then one evening mum goes out and she does not come home. 

Thomas and Tilly are taken to their first foster home. The parents in that home are kind but after just two weeks Thomas and Tilly find themselves back with mum. A social worker is assigned to visit but this will only happen once a week, then once every two weeks and then the social worker goes away and no one comes for six weeks. Mum becomes very ill again and so Thomas and Tilly are taken to a different foster carer. This place is not a kind home. The older son from this family is cruel and violent. Eventually Thomas and Tilly are taken to another foster home and this one is good. The children get their lives back and there is love and food and clean clothes and a new school for Thomas which means he can and does make a fresh start. But ... then they have to go back to mum and it is clear things will again spiral out of control. 

Reading this book is a roller coaster ride. I started my reading late at night and then had to put the book down after one especially violent incident. I resumed my reading this morning desperately hoping no other truly bad things would happen to these kids. 

Terrible things do sadly happen to these children but then someone steps into help. That's the roller coaster. I cried and then I sighed. I gasped and then I felt some relief. Chapter 13 is one turning point where Thomas feels able to talk to an adult and the loss of his dad and the moods of his mum. In Chapter 20 he talks to Em his foster sister about the Other Shadow. I am a little confused about the role of the shadow - at times it feels connected with Dad because it offers some wisdom (which Thomas doesn't always follow) then at other times the shadow is a distraction. The shadow is a tall thin man with a mop of curly hair - no one else can see him and Thomas worries that seeing this shadow might be sign that he also has bipolar like his mum. 

Here's how The Book Muse explains the shadow: Throughout the novel, Thomas has an invisible friend, I guess you could call it, that he refers to as the Other Shadow who turns up at various stages throughout the book. The Other Shadow is a protector of sorts and makes Thomas feel safe at times, but at other times, he wants it to go away so he can settle and be calm again, be able to move on with his life. ... It is almost a manifestation of his worries at times, the thing that he is unsure of, and unsure of how to deal with, but there is also a sense of hope as Thomas starts to feel like he can talk to people about it 

I have read quite a few middle grade books about parents (often mothers) who have a serious mental illness. I have also read other middle grade books about the experience of living in foster care. Tania Ingram does not spare her readers in this, at times harrowing, story of Thomas and his little sister who have to navigate their complex life circumstance following the death of their dad. It seems especially hard that Mrs Douglas, the social worker, cannot offer more help but I guess that is actually the reality of our Mental Health system. I did celebrate the ending of this book but I am not going to spoil this. 

In the interest of disclosure - all of life experiences do influence us - I had a very strong reaction to this book. As a teenager I did experience very similar confusions to Thomas - I won't go into any details here, but my own family relationships made this book, at times, very hard to read. 

The reviewer at Just So Stories loved this book and she goes into a lot more plot detail: This is a book that will go straight to the heart and will remain with the reader for a very long time. I believe it is a book that will speak to those children who are in the most fraught of circumstances and will give others an insight into the tragedy of some families. ... I cannot urge you strongly enough to get hold of it – I know the cover is not one that jumps up and grabs you – but this is the time for discerning readers to look past that and walk a mile in another kid’s shoes.

I do agree it is an important book and it is sensitively told but this is a book that I would only share with very mature readers aged 11+ or better yet 12+.

Just a word of warning. The Scholastic teachers notes for this book make NO concession for class groups where a student or even more than one student has had an experience like Thomas. I was so shocked to read their suggested activities. As the child of a parent with mental health issues I would have found these tasks very confronting:

Thomas’s mother has bipolar disorder, which, while it can be well-treated with medication these days, as we see in the novel, a severe case like Thomas’s mother can also be difficult to treat because people often dislike how the medication makes them feel. How common is bipolar disorder, and how does it affect people? In pairs or small groups, research more about how it manifests, how it can be treated, and how it affects the person who has it, as well as their family, when it is untreated. What are some other mental health conditions that you have heard of? As a class, name as many of them as you can, and then write down next to each one what you know of it. In pairs or small groups, choose one mental health disorder that you have named, and research it further.

In my view these two activities are highly inappropriate for a Grade 6 Primary school class. 

Tania Ingram is an internationally published author of children’s picture books, novels and poetry. She has a master’s degree in clinical psychology and prior to becoming an author, worked as a child psychologist.

This book has been added to the CBCA 2025 Younger Readers Notables list, but I think it better suits the Older Readers category. If you are considering this book for your school library or if you received it as a part of a Standing Order package, I strongly suggest you read it yourself before recommending it to a student and I also strongly caution against using this book as a class read aloud. 

This book might make you think of the mother in Goodnight Mister Tom and also The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson. Other companion books:

Small as an elephant

The Secrets we Keep

Waiting for Normal

How I saved the world in a week

The Star outside my Window

This book explores the experiences of foster care

Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Where are you from? Are you camping with your family? Where's your dad? - these are all questions Jack dreads.

Jack and his mum head off on a camping trip to Maine. They borrow the equipment they need and his mum hires a car. Mum is keen to write a list of all the things she wants to do and see in Maine. 

"These were supposed to be the best three days of his whole summer. The ones that were going to make up for the boring days he'd spent in their nothing-to-do apartment. Mom, in her exploding firecracker way had borrowed equipment, read online reviews, made lists of all the best places to visit, circled maps and even downloaded music for the car ride."

Jack joins in but when he makes suggestions of things to add to the list his mother gets mad. Jack knows he has to tread carefully. His mum has moods - highs and lows - and things can be dangerous when she is unwell. Mum has warned Jack not to tell anyone about their lives. 

"Once, Nina has asked him why he was alone so much, and he had tried to tell her - tell her about his mom's pinwheel times. How sometimes the air felt so still to her, like there wasn't any oxygen or breezes to be found. These times made his mother so prickly, she could hardly sit still."

"That's what worry did to Jack, it made him incredibly tired - tired the way his mom always was after the spinning times. She'd come home and crawl into bed, close the shades, pull up the covers, and that's where Jack would find her for days - sometimes even weeks - after a spinning time."

When Jack wakes up on the first morning of their trip the hire car is gone, his mother is gone and so is her little tent. Jack is alone and confused. The next few days will be terrible for Jack and harrowing for you, the reader, as Jack tries to find his mother, tries to stay away from the authorities and he tries to simply survive. 

Everything seems to against Jack. He accidentally swims with his phone, he breaks his little finger and is in excruciating pain and then all of his gear is stolen. Jack does need help but the warnings issued by his mother are powerful and so he keeps running and searching and trying to reach his, ever changing, destination.

"No!' he shouted. No! No! No! How could he have been so stupid? He had forgotten. Forgotten his phone was in his pocket. Forgotten and gone swimming! The phone was totally soaked. ... Totally soaked and totally dead."

"All Jack had left was a water bottle, the clothes on his back, and one small, plastic elephant."

The one thing that keeps Jack going is his desire to see a live elephant.  When he was a child he had a special experience:

"But the elephant had tapped him again and kept on tapping him until he lifted his head and looked over at her. Slowly, slowly, she'd reached out her trunk again and touched his cheek. Jack remembered giggling, remembered feeling as if the elephant tent were the safest place in the world."

If you, or your reading companion, can cope with the severe mental health issues raised in this book, then I would recommend this gripping story of survival for readers aged 11+. If you need more plot details here is a review by Book Aunt.

His love and knowledge of elephants both sustains him and pleasingly shapes the story arc. Jack’s journey to a new kind of family is inspiring and never sappy. Kirkus

I previously read two books by Jennifer Richard Jacobson -  Paper Things and The Dollar kids.

Other books which explore mental illness in a parent:

Nest

Waiting for Normal

Hurricane Child

The Secrets we Keep

Tillerman saga

Small as an Elephant reminded me of this one also about a desperate journey.

The Honest Truth