The Light in Everything

This story is told in alternating short chapters by Zofia and Tom, two warring eleven-year-olds forced into a newly re-constructed family. Initially Zofia wants to keep her Polish doctor father all to herself in their cottage by the sea. Tom meanwhile, recovering from his own horribly abusive father, only wants to continue making those paper birds he has so long been obsessed with as a way of staving off a continual state of debilitating anxiety. Not a cheerful scene, but Katya Balen alternates wit with flashes of poetic phrasing. And then into the mix comes a new baby born two months too early and with potentially life-ending health problems.

Yet this still remains a hopeful story, with Tom much to his surprise at last popular with fellow pupils in his new school while his mother and stepfather constantly come up with support rather than irritation at their children’s inability to get on. In return, both slowly grow to understand each other, working together on finishing a small boat which their father had left half-completed.  During this process they reach a level of therapeutic insight and self-discovery rarely found in those so young. But this also means that readers can follow their otherwise hidden thought processes with ease, while also possibly learning something useful themselves.

The repeated emphasis on how each child continues to struggle with the effects of past trauma does at times threaten to become somewhat wearisome, but Balen is a skillful writer, expert at mixing entertainment with strong plot developments.  Two brightly coloured loose sheets of origami paper are included, along with illustrated instructions on the inside and back covers showing readers how they can create their own paper cranes. Good luck with that!