Bloomsbury YA (12+) 9781526653987 (Paperback)
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Sonny’s family are struggling with financial hardship; his dad is unable to work due to long Covid and the family has borrowed money from a loan shark to try to remain solvent. Despite the bleakness of their situation, there’s colour, warmth and humour as well as authentic depiction of Tourette’s syndrome which leads to Sonny making inopportune outbursts threatening his plans to carry out a Robin Hood style heist against the loan shark.
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Brian Conaghan lives and works in the Scottish town of Coatbridge. He has an MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow and for many years worked as a teacher in Scotland, Italy and Ireland. His novel When Mr Dog Bites was shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, The Bombs That Brought Us Together won the Costa Children’s Book Award, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers won the Irish Book Award for Teen/Young Adult Book of the Year and The M Word was shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards. Cardboard Cowboys, Brian’s first middle-grade novel, was published in 2021 and Swimming on the Moon followed in 2023.
It was a good book that dealt with the struggles of poverty and disabilities. I thought that it was a good (if immoral) plan to steal the money. There were some bits that I found hard going, and others that were page-turners. I struggled to imagine what it must be like for sonny, to have Tourette's, a bedbound dad and a struggling mum, and still managing to struggle through it.
connor f
Ermysted’s Carnegie Shadowing Group
Stealing happy is an absolute masterpiece and I feel it has a unique story that no other book has. It was gripping and enjoyable my only criticism is that it was a bit jumbled a times with a lot going on.
Henry D
Ermysted’s Carnegie Shadowing Group
Thirteen-year-old Sonny Gilmour lives on the 13th floor of a Scottish council flat—a place he considers his "safe haven" despite the stinking lifts and cramped quarters. However, his world is crumbling. His father is disabled by Long Covid, and his mother is struggling to keep up with the rent after her cleaning hours are cut. When the notorious loan shark Chick Lennon shows up at their door, Sonny realizes his mother has borrowed money just to survive. Desperate to reclaim his family's joy, Sonny teams up with his best mate Jonah and the quiet genius Carolina Swift to hatch a plan: rob Chick Lennon. I liked this book because it’s funny even when things are dark.
Patrick J
Ermysted’s Carnegie Shadowing Group
This book was very entertaining, despite being a little confusing at the start - due to the use of very informal language and clear plot, until later in the book - it was still very interesting and had a great story. The story itself progressed quite slowly, however, it was still enjoyable and had some very exciting moments. The characters were quite diverse (like the main character, Sonny) and made the book a lot more fun to read.
Theo dP
Ermysted’s Carnegie Shadowing Group