Smart by Kim Slater

Smart
by Kim Slater

Kieran Woods is a bit different. He is brilliant at drawing, but his special teacher at school tells him he must try to think before he speaks so as not to upset people. He also proves to be a brilliant detective. A homeless man is found dead in the river, and Kieran takes it upon himself to find out who killed him. But it's not easy, especially when you have Tony as a stepfather and Ryan as a stepbrother. They are both physically and mentally abusive towards Kieran and his mother. Kieran is not allowed to watch the television with him, he must eat his meals at different times (and not have the same food - only beans on toast for Kieran), and whenever there are visitors to the house Kieran must go to his room. These visitors usually come at night, and Tony hands over little bags and receives a large amount of cash in exchange.

As if this isn't enough unhappiness in poor Kieran's life, he has been banned from seeing his Grandma, who tried to stand up to Tony and his bullying ways, but lost the right to see her grandson in the process. But now Grandma could be the only comfort in Kieran's life, so he sets out to try to find her again.

This is such a sad and tragic story. You just want to take Kieran by the hand and drag him out of his current life and take care of him. His mother works all hours of the day, puts up with the abuse from Tony, doesn't report him out of fear, and does not stand up for Kieran when Tony picks on him. They live in a street of crime, and Tony's pet Rottweiler Tyson has been locked in the shed and just left there for days on end. It is all just so pitiful, you long for some happiness in Kieran's life. Even though Kieran's schoolteacher sounds caring and loving, even she does not investigate Kieran's home life when he comes into school with bumps and bruises.

Kieran is very brave, in fact he is the bravest of everyone in the whole story, even though he is the one with special needs and does not fully understand the way people work. He is also smart -he knows how to make use of his talents, he knows when something is wrong and he tells the right people. Good always overcomes evil.

A rather harrowing story but written brilliantly. If you like this then read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, or Colin Fischer