What is Six Weeks about?
12 year old Alfie Piper is grieving the loss of his mum. He now lives with his dad and his wife Sophie and new baby sister Alice. He is trying to come to terms with the sudden loss of his mum, and the uncomfortable relationship he had with his stepdad.
Plot summary of Six Weeks (No Spoilers)
Alfie Piper introduces himself to the reader. He has something to tell us. He’s struggling to voice it, and warns us it’s bad. His mum died.
He tells us how quick it all seemed to happen, about the funeral and his aunt and grandmother’s pain. Alfie finally talks of him – his mum’s partner.
Even though Alfie has known him since he was three, they never connected properly, only sharing his mum. But now she’s gone and she asked Alfie to do something before she died.
It’s a year before Alfie sees him again. The Summer holidays have arrived, and even though Alfie’s school friends have drifted away, he has a good life with his Dad, Sophie and Alice.
Six weeks of school holidays stretch before him. Six weeks of riding his bike wherever it takes him, and maybe even thinking about his mum’s last request of him.
Review
I thought my heart would break while reading The Final Year, but Six Weeks is even more powerful. Matt Goodfellow knows his characters – their hearts and their very souls. And this is how he breaks ours.
The beginning is masterfully done as a 12 year old boy introduces himself. He’s tentative, unsure and apologising for his revelation. Having his words in white text upon black pages is a masterful punch in the gut – where I gasped aloud. I hadn’t read the back blurb, just knowing I’d love another Matt Goodfellow novel regardless.
Alfie takes the reader on his painful passage from grief, loss, and confusion at his extended family’s behaviour, to more understanding of those around him and how it has affected his own life and relationships.
A slow healing, that he never thought possible; is aided by love, patience and time from close family, and honesty from others.
Wow. Simply beautiful storytelling of grief, complicated family relationships, and their fallout. But healing is possible, as loved ones share their truth.
Tissues definitely required.
Book Style
293 Pages /Verse Novel
FAQ’s
What age is it for?
10+
Where & When is it set?
Summer Holidays, England. The present
What is the Point of View / Tense of the novel?
1st person / present tense
Is there Violence?
No
What genre is ?
Middle Grade Real Life / Contemporary Fiction
Themes
Family/ Grief / Loss / Growing Up / Real Life
Is it part of a series?
No
Find more books by Matt Goodfellow here
Author
Matt Goodfellow
Illustrator
Joe Todd-Stanton
Publisher
Hachette Children’s Books
(2026, Hachette, Starboard, Wow, Grief, Loss, Family, Connections, Bike Riding, Walking, Sharing, Change, Growing Up, England, Manchester, Blended Family, New Baby Sister, Summer Holidays, Real Life, Heartbreaking, Tissues required, Love, Music)
Stock up on tissues first!
Oh my, this sounds like an emotional read but worthwhile. I’ll look for it at the library.