How To Be More Hedgehog

Lily Marks is eleven. She lives with her Mum and her older brother, Dylan who is two years older. Her Dad has moved to Scotland to live with his new partner. Dylan struggles to accept this. Lily loves everything about animals and also has a stammer.

Lily’s new teacher, Mr. Daly, assigns her and her best friend, Mia, a project on climate change. This will involve presenting orally to the class. Can Lily do it? What will she learn about herself, coping with a stammer and the strength of friendships in the process? And why does she have to be more hedgehog?

Conway’s novel deals sensitively with the immense challenges that having a stammer cause Lily. Lily’s progress towards accepting her stammer and learning coping strategies is satisfyingly non-linear. This will make it easier for readers to relate to. The other major strength of Conway’s novel is that the digital world plays a significant role in what otherwise is a very nature focused book as there is an incidence of severe cyber bullying. This book could be used in Key Stage Two classrooms to discuss cyber bullying and true friendship.