Joff is relieved school is over and weeks of summer holidays stretch before him. He can stroll around his small town, through fields, along paths and to the well that is said to be holy, holding water with healing powers. Beside Joff with every step is his beloved border collie Jet.

Also with Joff are his worries for his dad. They never leave him lately, and although he loves being out and about and going nowhere in particular, he also wonders whether he should be at home with his dad. Dad’s cancer is being treated, which in turn makes him tired and often sick.

Dad keeps smiling however, jollying Joff out of his worries and telling him to enjoy his summer holidays and hang out with his mates. Kenny is Joff’s best friend, and a very understanding one at that. But sometimes Joff just wants to be on his own, with only Jet at his side.

Then he meets a strange, talkative girl who has moved in above the butcher’s shop with her mum. Dawn Chorus (not her real name, but she likes the sound of it) is not put off by Joff’s quietness. She is quite happy in her own company and loves to explore and write. Her easy-going positive nature is just what Joff needs, even if he doesn’t admit it to himself at first.

He has something to offer her too – a secret way into a crumbling church at the top of a hill above the town. Signs warn of DANGER, saying KEEP OUT, but the local kids hardly give them another thought.

They’ve all heard the tales of the boy who fell after trying to climb the disintegrating steeple. But did it really happen or is it just a cautionary tale?

Different groups hang out there. Joff and his mates. Older kids and their beer cans and smokes. Others too. Soon this tumbling down place dubbed the Chapel of Doom is what finally takes Joff’s worries for a while, as something amazing happens within its tumbledown walls.

A tale of a boy worried about his dad. Joff is a good friend, son and dog owner, but lately his worries have begun to overtake friendships and his calm demeanor. Sometimes his feelings have overtaken him. But a new girl in town brings something new with her and despite trying to ignore her too, she becomes a friend.

David Almond is a masterful writer, capturing this young boy’s psyche on the page. Joff is only eleven but feels older with his Dad’s illness always present. I loved both of Joff’s parents as they realise what he is going through too, always encouraging him to be a lad, hang out with his mates, and trusting him when he says he’s been nowhere and done nothing all day.

Don’t worry about sad endings with this one. It’s not a definitive conclusion, but full of hope, love and new friendships.

The afterword by the author explains where this story came from, making me worry more for him than Joff.

All the best, David Almond.

Author – David Almond

Age – 10+

Find more books by David Almond here

(2024, Hachette NZ, Small Town, Sickness, Illness, Cancer, New Friend, Friendship, Hope, Family, Art, Animal, Dog, Butcher, Singing, Worry, Worries, Love, Positivity, Looking forward, Courage, Church, Chapel, Danger, Keep Out)