I really enjoyed An Unusual Boy.

Julia’s son Jackson is different to most children and can be a struggle at times. Julia tries her best to look after him and his two sisters and ensures they take part in extra-curricular activities and are not overlooked despite her husband working away a lot and working herself. She is trying her best.

A devastating incident occurs involving Jackson and completely changes their lives. They must try to come together to work their way through it but more twists and turns in the story make it difficult.

This was a fantastic read and I was eager to read this in one sitting to find out what would happen next.

This is a excellent book. Julia is raising her 3 children with a largely absent husband. Milla and Ruby are neurotypical but her son Jackson is neurodiverse.

In this book we truly see the world through Jackson’s eyes. When there is a terrible incident at school, Jackson tells the truth as he answers the questions he is asked. As readers we can only read on in horror at the ensuing investigation.

With an eclectic and interesting selection of characters, this is a really special book. I will look out for more books by this talented author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Another great read from Fiona Higgins.
Julia, a mother with three children and a husband who mostly is overseas for work. Her youngest, Jackson, is an unusual boy who is different from his siblings and friends. One day, Jackson gets stopped from coming into school as there's a report that he has been involved in an assault of one of the girls at school. Jackson's way of communication and convey things didn't help to get out of this accusation. I read this within four hours as I just couldn't stop.

Not a book I would normally choose to read as I’m more of a crime thriller reader, However the blurb of this book got me interested. I am so glad I read this book. It was at times a difficult and heartbreaking read but other times I was laughing out loud.

I really enjoyed this book. The story follows a family of five, focusing on the middle child, Jackson. Jackson is unlike his siblings and peers and struggles with a lot of the things that other children don't. He is very literal and when something goes wrong at school, he struggles to know how to explain his role. Jackson's mum struggles too, with how to support her son in a system that isn't doesn't seem to know how, or even want, to help him.

The characters in this book are great. I believed in them and wanted them to be alright. I also found it really interesting how professionals dealt with the situation but don't want to say more in case I give anything away. Just read it!

This a powerfully written, cautionary tale that is certainly relevant for our times. As a parent myself, my heart was in my mouth at times whilst reading this. An excellent novel, though hard hitting in places.

“Every morning when I wake up, my beans are flying around inside me like popcorn in a pot. They bounce me out of bed and make me want to jump and dance and do a hundred push-ups, even when the rest of the world is sleeping.”

An Unusual Boy is the fourth novel by Australian author, Fiona Higgins. Eleven-year-old Jackson Curtis is a very special boy. He’s also a challenge for his family, but they love him and they’re (mostly) patient with all the tics, quirks, habits, and the routines that seem to follow an inexplicable logic. His little sister likes having a different brother because he’s never boring; she dubs his tendency to do handstands in public places “café yoga”. The family tries to “focus on the one thing we can control: our responses to Jackson’s behaviours.”

Jackson is smart (maybe too smart for the class teacher at his new school?) and he likes chess and soccer, but hasn’t made any real friends because the kids think he’s strange. Except April Kennedy, who’s shy and kind, and Miss Marion, with her rainbow hair and funny socks, who teaches dance.

He’s excited to have a play date with Digby Bianco after soccer on Mother’s Day, but it’s not quite what he imagined, and leaves him unsettled. And the next day at school, something happens that makes Jackson feel very uncomfortable, but he’s promised Digby he won’t tell, and one of their family rules is that they don’t break promises.

Suddenly, the police are involved and Julia Curtis, music therapist and busy mother of three, has to handle everything in the absence of her workaholic husband, temporarily overseas. The fact that “Jackson has always been so literal and linear in his thinking” and his inability to quickly articulate exactly what has occurred (“when people talk a lot, my brain gets glued up. And sometimes when it gets really clogged, I start seeing things in black and white”) works against him, seeing him ostracised.

Julia finds she must push past her exhaustion to draw on the well of strength and inventiveness she didn't know she had. As the school mothers jump to conclusions and close ranks, Julia is surprised and heartened by support from unexpected quarters. Her usually-disapproving mother-in-law becomes a fierce supporter of her unusual grandson; and the soccer coach and dance teacher remain stalwart in Jackson’s corner.

Higgins effortlessly evokes this familiar setting, her characters are completely believable, and their dialogue that of those people we encounter on the school run, at the supermarket, in the café. Jackson is an utter delight: who could fail to fall in love with a boy who asks “Is time… heavy or light?” When things start to go pear-shaped, it’s hard not to feel anxious for this remarkable boy. It’s almost a privilege to dip into the lives of these characters, and investment in them is well rewarded with humour and wise words.

If this is a cautionary tale about the dangers to children of unsupervised internet access, then it is equally an admonition to avoid xenophobia of any sort: race, colour, creed or simply a different way of thinking, an alternate perception of the world. The common compulsion to “label” is countered by Julia: “Sometimes labels just put special kids in boxes. Sometimes they just give adults an excuse to stop thinking.”

A totally credible tale, funny, thought-provoking, heart-warming and uplifting, contained within a stunning cover designed by Becky Glibbery: this has to be Fiona Higgins’s best yet!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Boldwood Books

There’s some deep material in this quick read that ends like a Hallmark movie, but certainly doesn’t feel like one getting there. While this is not a mystery, there are twists and turns along the way. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out you may realize that you’ve been going down the wrong path in your mind. This book brings out a lot of emotions, especially for a parent of a child who thinks differently than most. It will keep you engaged and thinking about it from beginning until the end. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Oh this book y’all. I cried, I felt for all the characters in it. I laughed and I cried some more. It’s such a heartbreaking yet heartwarming book that makes you think about what you would do if this was your family.

I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was so well written ,I really liked the fact it was told from the mother's point of view, and I especially liked the fact that Jackson had his own very distinctive voice.it was funny, touching and very believable. I can't praise it enough, in fact I have already recommended it to other readers on one online book club I belong to and it has certainly generated interest, and pre orders. I feel very confident that other readers will enjoy this book as much as I did. Its not my usual genre either, I mainly read Thrillers, and Sci Fi and Urban Fantasy, but am always open to exploring other genres, and am so glad I asked for this book. Loved the playlist from Jackson at the end too, I have long been a fan of Anohni and love Hope There's Someone and I had fun on you tube checking out the other favourites .Fabulous book so glad I was lucky enough to get an ARC to review.