Six Weeks

Alfie Piper is twelve years old. The reader discovers within the first pages of Goodfellow’s beautiful and brutal verse novel that Alfie’s mother, Sally AnneTaylor, died from pancreatic cancer almost a year ago. We also discover that Alfie’s mum’s partner was with her when she died. Alfie was not. What follows is a deeply nuanced exploration of the effects of profound grief and eventual healing on all members of Alfie’s family.

One of the major relationships in this book is that between Alfie and his mum’s partner. For most of the book, Alfie hates the partner and refuses to use his name. He is jealous of the partner’s place in his mum’s world. This is a vital relationship to explore in a family that has been touched by grief and it is something that is rarely done with such sensitivity. If the reader thinks all relationships can be healed from loss like this, they are mistaken. Alfie’s maternal grandmother is a case in point. Even in death, she can’t forgive her daughter’s past mistakes, namely teenage pregnancy.

Any reader who has experienced deep loss will be touched hugely by Goodfellow’s text and Todd-Stanton’s illustrations. Be warned! It may make you weep.