The Boy in the Tree

Noah Spencer is a disruptive twelve-year-old. He hears about the destruction of an oak tree at the end of the local street, while in school detention. He has good memories of his father lying back in the tree and making both him and his mother laugh. Can he save the tree and co-incidentally, his parents’ marriage, which is at breaking point?

Thompson’s skill in this short novel published by Barrington Stoke is in her realisation of Noah’s voice and in the way she allows the reader to be on the side of someone who, at least at first, is an unlikeable character. Interestingly, it is not Noah’s teachers who make him decide to put in a little effort at school, but his former friends saying that he is on the path to exclusion. This shows us how much young people’s views matter to their peers.

The final strong point of this book is that Thompson does not allow herself to take the easy option and make Noah’s actions save his parents’ marriage, however much the reader might want this. Instead, she carefully explains that children being happy can make parents happy but temporary happiness cannot necessarily save a marriage. This helps validate how teens might be feeling if their parents do split.