Life, Interrupted

This first novel gets better as it goes along. Although sprinkled with potentially child-pleasing references, it turns into a thoughtful and sensitive description of a 14-year-old boy and his football-mad younger brother aged 11 losing their single mother to cancer. But this is no unwelcome addition to the already overstocked shelves of teenage misery lit. Both boys show every sign of coming through their ordeal, well supported by friends and a gay Uncle. If Kelleher were a professional cricketer he would belong in the honest workman camp rather than lining up with the natural stroke-makers. But there is always room for both approaches when catering for young readers, and there are moments in this novel that are extremely moving and others that are genuinely funny. Kelleher now owes us another novel where everyone manages to stay alive; let’s hope it’s not too long in coming.