The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival

From the opening lines of this book a reader will know this will be a story filled with raw emotions, pain and sadness but hopefully also, well, hope!

"This is no fairy tale. Not unless it's one of those really old fashioned ones, where basically a whole load of terrible stuff happens to some poor unsuspecting kid. ... But you know what? Even in those stories where people get ripped in half, chewed up and spat out, eventually there's a happy ending. And that's the difference, see? Because this is just my life, and nothing's guaranteed."

Will is a high school student. He lives with his dad who has lost his job and has been in a workplace accident. Mum left some time ago and she lives in a different part of the city with her new partner. There is no money which means there is very little food and certainly no extras - go back and read the title - Will IS wearing the wrong shoes. No, this does not mean they are not the latest fashion though of course that is true. But there is more to it. These shoes are wrong because they are old, second hand, and have a split in the sole. When it rains, and it seems to rain quite a lot in this story, Will's feet get wet. His feet are cold and Will is cold and he is also hungry. These shoes also mean he stands out at school and is an easy target for bullies and cruel comments. Will also has no school supplies, and his school bag is from years ago. His one consolation is that he loves to draw. But as the story opens Will bumps into the school bully. It is raining, his shoes are wrong and then Chris Tucker (the bully) grabs Will's bag and his precious notebook filled with drawings is thrown into a puddle. And this is only the first of a series of utterly dreadful events.

Will does have one true friend but Cameron has such different life circumstances. His family are well off. He lives in a large comfortable home, and he has plenty to eat and he has in fact just been given expensive new shoes. In an act of kindness Cameron offers his old shoes to Will, but Will cannot see this as a kindness. He thinks Cameron's offer comes from pity. Will is way too proud to accept charity and so this precious friendship is shattered.

Meanwhile Will gains some information about Chris Tucker. He sees him being recruited into a gang of older kids who commit crimes around the town such as shoplifting and probably worse. Chris suddenly changes his manner towards Will. He seems to understand what it is like to live on the 'wrong side of town'. But Will needs to be careful because Chris has his own purposes for befriending Will and before too long Will is going to find himself in a shop stealing something for Chris. 

Tom Percival does give his readers one tiny glimpse of hope early in this story when Will sees a huge and majestic owl. Later in his art class at school he draws this special creature and his art teacher pays Will a huge compliment.

"That's incredible,' says Mr Prince. 'Really, it's remarkable ...' His warm deep voice pauses ... Usually I'm about as happy to get a compliment as a cat is to be sprayed with cold water, but on this occasion I smile. He's right. It really is something special - even I can see that."

Then there is the good news about an art competition with a huge money prize but remember those opening sentences I shared at the start of this post. Perhaps real life is not actually about happy endings?

Books enable us to see into lives we have no awareness of, and they also can reflect our own situations back at us, making us feel seen. I hope that any child who reads this book and is currently struggling will take Will’s resilience, determination and hope to heart and will keep going, keep working as hard as they can to do the best that they can, despite the obvious unfairness of it all. Tom Percival in The Big Issue

You will hold your breath reading this book. In fact I had to keep putting it down and desperately hoping other terrible things would not happen to Will. I am so glad I have read this book. The writing is so powerful - I was hugely invested in Will. I wanted to help him, talk to him, comfort him and guide him to stop and think about his choices and reactions. I kept hoping he would reach out to the adults in his life - his dad (he thinks he needs to protect him); his mum and her partner; and his teachers especially his wonderful art teacher. 

Huge congratulations to Tom Percival on his first full length novel. Here is an interview with Books for Keeps. The interview says:  ‘Realistically I wanted it to be a good story, a good journey, for people to feel transported. I want them to feel Will is real, that they’ve met him and understand him a bit. I want people like Will to feel seen, for people to make an effort to understand them even if they’ve misjudged them, and I want the Wills to feel that they’re right to be angry, that things aren’t fair and shouldn’t be like that.’

I picked this book up from one of our large chain bookstores in the city. They have a display shelf as you walk into the children's book section with the new release titles. The bottom shelves are usually Middle Grade and Younger and then as you go up the shelves the titles move to Young Adult. The Wrong Shoes was on a low shelf BUT from my reading I'd like to suggest it is a Young Adult title - I would say 12+. 

It is, at times, quite a dark tale. I felt so desperately sorry for Will, and his emotional turmoil is so raw sometimes it's very moving. And yet there is always this glimmer of hope underneath. The hope of things turning out for the best in the end. The story ends in a positive manner, but gratifyingly without an unbelievable 'everything is brilliant' ending, making it a more realistic and therefore satisfying conclusion. The Bookbag (this is a fabulous review but she suggests ages 9+ but I think this book is way too confronting for that age.)

• ‘An extraordinary, powerful and moving book that has the potential to change lives.’ Hannah Gold
• ‘Every chapter is full of experience & empathy & most importantly, heart’ Phil Earle
• ‘Reading fiction is about walking in the shoes of people whose lives are very different to ours and allowing more readers to see themselves in stories. The Wrong Shoes is the perfect example of both – the right book at the right time’ Tom Palmer
• ‘A brilliant book – such a perfect marriage of words and illustrations and an important story told with real heart’ Christopher Edge
• ‘A hopeful, honest, big-hearted read. You’ll be rooting for the main character, Will, from the very first page . . .’ Clara Vulliamy

Here are some other books I recommend. They are all for readers aged 11+ but they have similar themes and tone:

The Truth as told to Mason Buttle

Shelter

A different dog

Night bus Hero

As right as rain

I recognised the author Tom Percival on the cover of The Wrong Shoes.  I really enjoyed some of his previous picture book titles:

The Invisible

The River

The Sea Saw

Herman's Letter