Wow. What a book.

Last Lesson by James Goodhand had been sitting on my TBR pile for a long time, and I’m so glad I finally picked it up.

How can I sum the story up without giving too much away?

It’s about a teenager, Ollie Morcombe, who is fast approaching his last day at school. He lives with his grandfather because his mother has mental health problems, and he’s having a tough time with bullies at school.

As he gets closer to the last day of school Ollie comes up with a plan. He’s going to take a homemade pipe bomb into school and blow his classmates up.

Will he go through with his plan? Or will anybody be able to stop him before he goes too far?

‘A sensitive, gripping book about mental health and masculinity’ – Samuel Pollen, author of The Year I Didn’t Eat

The story had me hooked from the first page, and two thirds of the way through it made me cry.

I was afraid of how it was going to end, but I needn’t have worried. This is a fully satisfying story.

Here’s an interview with the author.