About the book
Five-year-old Jimmy Rova is the unwanted child of a mother who rejects him, and whose other children bully him. The one thing he can call his own is a pair of shoes, a present from the only person he feels has ever loved him. When they are cruelly taken away, Jimmy spirals down into a state of loneliness and terrible loss from which there seems no recovery. This triumphant story of a boy’s struggle with early trauma and his remarkable journey into adulthood is based on William Horwood’s own remarkable childhood in south-east England after the Second World War. Using all the skills that went into the creation of his modern classics, Horwood has written an inspiring story of a journey from a past too painful to imagine to the future every child deserves.
Reviewed by Ladies of an Age Reading Group:
Made some of us laugh and cry. An evocative view of childhood in a coastal town in post-war Britain. Prompted lots of discussion within our group. Glad to see a happy ending!
Star rating: ***
Hampshire Libraries 
Review by Morning Tide WI Reading Group:
We considered this a thought-provoking book of the author’s memory of his troubled life since 1950, with mention of some of his happier experiences. In general the group like it.
Star rating: ***
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Review by Solent U3A Reading Group:
The whole group enjoyed this book despite the unhappy times in Jimmy’s childhood. These were balanced by some really outstanding characters who gave him kindness. A heartwarming story, well rounded off at the end.
Star rating: ****
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