We See the Stars, Kate Van Hooft

Life in a country town in the early seventies is evoked through the eyes of a young boy called Simon. He has barely spoken since something happened to his mum, several years ago, but he has always had issues that she used to help him with. This includes what he calls his angries, when he loses control. A school he is a weirdo who is bullied and he survives with the help of imaginary friends and a rich interior life. His dad and younger brother do their best to support him, but his grandma thinks he should be sent away to a special school in the city. Life looks up a bit when a girl with her own issues befriends Simon and a new teacher takes an interest in him. But it all goes to shit when the teacher goes missing and Simon is bound by a promise not to tell her secret, which could help find her. This is a deeply sad story of a community beset by ignorance and behind-closed-doors brutality. The voice of a troubled boy rings true and as flashbacks reveal a tragic past, which sheds light on the difficult present, the reader is inexorably led to an even more tragic future.