The brotherly bonds of love do not abide by society's biases in Kit de Waal's inspiring debut novel, My Name Is Leon. Nine-year-old Leon delights in the birth of his little brother, Jake. But his emotionally unstable mother, Carol, finds caring for another child daunting, especially after Jake's father makes it painfully clear to her that he has no intention of being a part of their family. As his mother falls apart, Leon assumes the role of primary caregiver for his beloved infant sibling.
The lack of food in their apartment forces him to turn to their neighbor for help. Instead of lending him money, she calls children's services and the two boys are whisked away, placed in the care of Maureen, a long-time foster mother. Life is good with Maureen, until a family adopts the fair-haired Jake without his dark-skinned big brother.
Leon's journey through this new existence is rife with emotional struggles no child should have to endure. His young brain--and heart--grapples with understanding a world that thinks it's perfectly acceptable to rob him of Jake. De Waal, with the help of a racially diverse group of gardeners Leon secretly befriends, cultivates the boy's story, allowing it to bloom brilliantly under these harsh conditions.
My Name Is Leon grows an entire garden of vibrant characters who, through shared experiences with societal racism, become the nurturing family Leon needs. Their arrangements may not be traditional, but the exquisite results prove that families can sprout in the most unlikely places. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts