From Where I Stand

This book is a psychological thriller. It is very readable, mostly on account of its emotional poignancy, which grabs the reader’s attention. Raven is a teenage boy who believes his dead mother was murdered. He is bullied at school and estranged from his well-meaning but incapable foster family. His situation seems hopeless until he meets a new friend, a girl named Lotte. Raven tells Lotte that he thinks he knows who killed his mother. They set off on a detective hunt. The story ends with a twist that few readers will have foreseen.

Suzuma enables a reader to understand the difficulties of the traumatised Raven, without making it comfortable to be in his presence. Ella, the five-year-old daughter of his foster parents, sometimes penetrates his loneliness with her childish innocence. Suzuma manages convincingly to introduce the reader into Raven’s lonely world, though some of the scenes in which his suffering is enacted are too protracted.

Ultimately this is a book about guilt and redemption, as well as a deeply compelling read, probably for readers of 14 and over.