This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you. This helps keep my blog ad-free.

I don’t often read a book in one or two sittings, but October, October by Katya Balen was so good I had to. It arrived toward the end of last week and I starting reading it last night because it was already the 30th of October. This morning one of our cats woke me up at 5:45 so I stayed in bed and finished it.

This novel is written from the POV of October. I appreciated this single narrative as so many books these days skip backward and forward in time with different narrators which can be confusing. October lives in the woods with her dad. Her mother left when she was four and October’s never forgiven her. She fiercely loves her wild life with her dad, relishing everything from cold dips in the pond to climbing trees, cooking over an open fire, and growing their own food. On her eleventh birthday, her dad has an accident and she has to go live with her mother in London.

The story is told from the perspective of this sensitive young girl who just like any wild thing feels overwhelmed and out of place surrounded by walls, traffic noise, crowds of people, rules, clocks, etc. She misses her father and doesn’t know, like, or appreciate her mother, so she feels dreadfully alone and afraid. Her descriptions of how she is feeling when she’s overwhelmed by fear or anger or the noises and sensory input around her will probably be relatable to people who are highly sensitive.

This is a story of letting go of old and hurtful stories that we tell ourselves, how to see things differently, that new beginnings and new stories are possible, and that even in dark or confusing times, beauty, hope, friendship, and wild adventures can happen. It’s a story of changing, growing up, forgiveness of oneself and others, and a reminder that love surrounds us if we open to it.

I highly recommend October, October to lovers of exceptional stories with a vibrant protagonist you can root for and a feel-good, redemptive, sensible ending, those who enjoy YA or books in the 9-12 year old range. It won a Yoto Carnegie Medal in the UK and, if you like owls, this book features one. I won’t tell you more than that. Happy reading! If you’ve read it already, please share in comments!!