Welcome to Litsy!

This novel is narrated entirely by Leon. He's nine when we meet him and he's already had a few short stays in foster care.

Leon's life is unstable, always has been, but things really escalate when his baby brother Jake is born.

Leon's Dad is Black, Jake's Dad is white. Neither Father is present. Leon's mum will not get out of bed. There's race riots in the streets.

This is a story of big hearts in a broken society.

This is a great book. It depicts the breakdown of Leon's family from his young perspective so vividly. Really looking forward to the BBC adaptation.

Hoping to get this read before the BBC adaptation next Friday

Just finished this one and it was a beautiful story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And the cover is stunning!

How can a book be so heartbreaking yet heartwarming at the same time? The writing style is so real and immersive You can‘t help but be moved by the title character‘s story! #MyNameIsLeon #bookworm

Leon is a 9 year old forced into foster care and separated from his baby brother. His story is heartbreaking and made me cuddle my little ones closer. However, I just couldn‘t get into the story like I was expecting. I read De Waal‘s second book, which I loved, but this is so very different. Maybe a case of going in with too high expectations - it was just not as good as I hoped it would be.

Oh, Leon 💔 while this story is tough and unfair and hard, it is also hopeful, beautiful and sweet. Seeing how Leon deals with things bigger than himself, emotions he doesn‘t understand and people moving in and out of his life, squeezed my heart and gave me a lump in my throat.

The writing was stunning, and I‘m amazed that this is a debut 👌

It is too damn hot to sit outside, so I‘m sweating and reading on the couch instead 😅

I can feel this book is going to break my heart, but I can‘t stop reading!

#currentlyreading

I‘m having trouble deciding which of these two books I want to read next, so I‘m going to try a chapter of each and see which graps me the most 📖🤞

#bookmail to brighten my weekend. I have already listened to the one on the left, but I need a print copy for my office so I can look stuff up about teenagers when needed 😄

The tagged book is a total blame it on @Cinfhen and @TrishB 🙌

I love British authors, I love their cadence, their phrasing, and feel a sense of kinship. de Waal is no exception, and I cant wait to read what she publishes next.

Leon and his brother Jake are fostered by Maureen. When Jake is adopted by another family, Leon feels alone and vulnerable, and misses his brother so much. Maureen assures him #wecanworkitout even though she‘s ailing.
This is a beautiful novel and you‘ll fall in love with it.
And look at all the gorgeous covers of the book.
#HeyJune

Leon‘s foster mother is a woman called Maureen. She has curly red hair like a halo, a tummy “like Father Christmas”, and swears like a trouper. But she will fight for this boy. 🧡

#SheLovesYou
#HeyJune

@Cinfhen
@GypsyKat

My Name is Leon is such a heartwarming but heartbreaking story. I just wanted to reach in and hug Leon tight and tell him everything would be ok. The narration by Lenny Henry is perfect

I‘ve had to do two four hour drives over the last two days, and I don‘t think I could have made it through without an audiobook to keep me company during most of it 😴🚘😴
Enjoying My Name Is Leon very much so far, the narration is perfect although he gives all the characters Brummy accents and I haven‘t heard any references to Birmingham? And it‘s brought me nearly to tears a few times which wasn‘t the best while driving!

I was marveling at the different covers for this book. The one I‘m reading is the bottom left. Which one do you prefer?

I decided to try reading a bit of a sample of this book yesterday then got hooked and downloaded the library ebook to read - neglecting, of course, all those other books I‘ve already downloaded or are sitting on my shelf waiting to be read (for years!).
It‘s a debut novel that won the Irish Novel of the Year 2017. And its main character is a young biracial boy stuck in the foster care system in 1980s Birmingham. And so far a great read!

This is next up for me .... I hear good things 👍🏻

Set in early 80s Britain, this is a heartrending story from the POV of a 9yr old. In his journey to search for his half brother & his drug-dependent mother, he discovers his identity, human connection & love among unexpected people. Well written, characters realistically drawn, it shows the realities of foster care & adoption system, the difficulties foster children undergo, the role of social workers & foster care givers.I just want to hug Leon.

Just a couple of chapters into my #currentread and I have a feeling this is going to be a beautiful and touching story.

Excited by these two books which came in yesterday. The first is a book I chose from Irish Arts Center‘s 8th annual Book Day (an event in New York I run...we hand out thousands of free books across all 5 boroughs to celebrate Irish literature on St. Patrick‘s Day). The other I bought after a friend posted on FB & I felt compelled to do so.
If you‘re in NYC next Saturday, check out locations for a free book at irishartscenter.org. #bookhaul #getlit

Set against the 1980s riots in England, two brothers are put in foster care after their mother has a mental breakdown and can't care for them. Jake, a white baby, is adopted fairly quickly, leaving his 9-year-old brother Leon, a half black boy, asking himself why his life/world is changing so quickly in ways he doesn't understand. This is written from Leon's point of view - which makes the story even more emotional!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Started this one yesterday. Opinions??

Literally had a lump in my throat the whole way through reading this . Leon will break your heart 💔
So many kids with these challenges.

Valentines books from hubby ❤️ paired with my valentine docs.
These books are definitely all #blameitonlitsy

To summarize this in one word.. heartbreaking.
This is another one that is told from the point of view of a child. A 9 yr old boy named Leon. When you look at the world from his angle, you see it in a whole new light. It touches on many topics such as the foster care system, racism, mental illness...and its done in a beautiful and unique way.

I got everything i need to start with this book.

All of these have #flowers on the cover! They have been given to me or suggested by other littens ❤️🌸🧡🌼 I hope to get to them soon!!

#Newyearreads

Having a great Cup of tea (in this case a roobis- caramell- Latte🤤) and a good book. What else can you ask for?! 😍😁

#EmojiNov #👋🏼 My Name is Leon is such a phenomenal novel that has not gotten enough #LitsyLove 😲Leon's mom is having a difficult time. She can't manage her 2 boys😢Leon is a precious eight yr old and bi-racial his baby brother Jake, is white. When social services intervenes they separate the boys, but Leon made a promise to Jake. And he will fight to get Jake back in his life. Sooo good!!!

#blameitonlitsy one of my litsy friends read this and recommend it and finally i found. Next stop will be the supermarket to buy some tissues. Appartly this book will break your heart.

My September reading wrap up. Bit of a slow reading month, but I really enjoyed all the books I read!

These books followed me home today. #bookhaul #blameitonlitsy

💙📮📚📖📫🤓 #BookMail #BOTM#GoodReadsWin #BookCoverLove #TBR #DiverseReads

Came home to a double whammy book mail arrival!🤓

Both my GoodReads win & my BOTM selection were waiting for me by my door this evening!!😍

#catsoflitsy

????????? #GoodReadsWin #TBR #ForTheLoveOfBooks #BookwormProblems

I won!??❤

Just got an email notification of my win for this novel which I hear is wonderfully heartfelt & perfect for fans of "The Language of Flowers" which I happened to love, therefore I'm pretty excited to get my hands on this! ?

What a wonderful book. I knew that it was going to be a tough read when I got to page 49 with a sizeable lump in my throat - and that continued throughout the whole 262 pages of the book.
It's the story of a mixed-race boy in the foster system. And yes, that is an important part of the story. His baby, white, brother is adopted quickly. He is not. His foster mother is wonderful though. This is such a good story.

Bookmail! And the best kind: a free book from mumsnet.com!

Finally finished a book - now onto this one. #24in48

Three cheers for #bookmail!!! Thanks so much, @Cinfhen! I'm really looking forward to reading it 😁

Congrats to @TheKidUpstairs 🎉🎉🎉You won the #LetterLLove Giveaway 💞💞💞Thanks to everyone who played along and for all of your kind words and wishes!!! Stay tuned...I have more summer giveaways planned 😊#PayingItForwardMovement {Megan, please email me at cindyh666 at icloud.com with your mailing address}

LOTS of LOVE for LEON💖Leon is dark skinned, his baby brother Jake is light skinned, lots of families want a white skinned baby. Leon is 8 & 3/4 not many families want that 😥Thank God for kind, generous foster parents- who recognize EVERY CHILD deserves to be loved. More love for social workers , who fight for these children 😘Heartfelt story of love & what constitutes a family. Some crying may have occurred. And post anniversary breakfast 😊

THIS❤️BOOK❤️It's making me ugly cry all morning😭😭😭😭sooo good! Stack it!!!!

In the end had to speed read . A great insight to what it might be like to be in the foster system. From a kids view point.

Leon took care of his baby brother until they were separated. Leon, a biracial 9 year old, stays in foster care while his white baby brother is adopted. Everyone thinks they know all there is to know about Leon and they think they know what is best for him. But Leon keeps his life compartmentalized so no one knows too much about him. He has learned one thing well: you can not trust anyone. Heartbreaking and hopeful.

We have a visitors card for the library here. So these were my pick. Very random. @MrsMalaprop as you can see I'm having another go at Ali Smith. The little book on Scotland was interesting. Lots of facts I did not know. Like --- Dundee is the only city in Scotland that faces south and, as such, clams to be the country's sunniest city. We are going there today. Must add , for first day in a week the sun is shinning here. 😎

My lunch time!