An Unusual Boy by Fiona Higgins – Review | Blog Tour

A riveting read.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

Meet Jackson – a very unusual boy in a world that prefers ‘normal’…

Julia Curtis is a busy mother of three, with a husband often away for work, an ever-present mother-in-law, a career, and a house that needs doing up. Her fourteen-year-old daughter, Milla, has fallen in love for the first time, and her youngest, Ruby, is a nine-year-old fashionista who can out-negotiate anyone.

But Julia’s eleven-year-old son, Jackson, is different. Different to his sisters. Different to his classmates. In fact, Jackson is different from everyone. And bringing up a child who is different isn’t always easy.

Then, one Monday morning, Jackson follows his new friend Digby into the school toilets. What happens inside changes everything; not only for Jackson, but for every member of his family. Julia faces the fight of her life to save her unusual boy from a world set up for ‘normal’.

An extraordinary boy. The mother who loves him. The fight of their lives.

An Unusual Boy by Fiona Higgins – Review | Blog Tour

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

I am fumbling for words to describe how good this book is. I had not expected An Unusual Boy to be such a riveting read.

It is a novel about a special child in a world that prefers ‘normal’.

Jackson is a special child, wise beyond his years and extremely intelligent but unable to articulate his thoughts sometimes. The book lucidly conveys his unique perspectives on the world and sensitively portrays the challenges encountered by children like him and their families.

Higgins has created a masterpiece in the form of the Curtis family. She brilliantly portrays the dynamics of every relationship in the family resulting in a character-driven story. Julia’s unflinching support for her son, Jackson, Milla’s support for her brother and mother, Andy’s (Julia’s husband) reluctance to deal with the difficult situations arising due to Jackson’s special needs, and the frosty relationship between Julia and her mother-in-law—every minute detail kept me glued to the book.

In the first half of the book, Higgins sets up the scene for the disaster to occur on a particular Monday morning. It is the events that unfold after that Monday morning that elevate the book to a higher level.

Higgins maintains the tension throughout the novel. With Jackson being a character of interest in the said events, I had no choice but to be patient and wait for him to reveal what happened in his own time. Meanwhile, I (along with Julia) had my stomach in knots and was praying fervently for Jackson to have the courage to speak out. This is a testament of Higgins’ writing prowess – she had me invested in the characters to such an extent.

An Unusual Boy by Fiona Higgins is a gripping, well-written, smoothly flowing tale of mystery. It is taut with suspense yet so heart-warming and inspirational.

The book arrested my attention from the first page and did not leave me until the last. Consequently, I read it in two days straight. It is also insightful and thought-provoking. It implores us to think differently about the ‘different’ people.

Highly recommended for lovers of mystery everyone.

An Unusual Boy by Fiona Higgins

BOOK DETAILS

Genre: Mystery, Contemporary Fiction || Published on October 20th 2020 by Boldwood Books

Buy on Amazon.in || Amazon UK

The Amazon.in is an affiliate link. If you purchase from here, I will receive a very small commission at no extra cost to you.

Many thanks to Rachel @ Rachel’s Random Resources for organizing this blog tour. Many thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book. This does not affect my opinion on the book. I opted to provide an honest review on my blog.

AUTHOR BIO

Fiona Higgins, Photo Courtesy of Luisa Brimble

Fiona Higgins is the Australian writer of several bestselling contemporary novels including The Mothers’ Group and Wife on the Run. Her work has been widely reviewed, translated internationally, and described as ‘page-turning domestic melodrama for the social media age’. She lives with her family in Sydney and her first book for Boldwood will be published in October 2020.

Author Links: Website || Twitter

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