Clem is loving her 15th birthday party. Among the guests are her best friends Mischa and Danny, her dad who always makes a huge fuss of her birthday since mum left, and her step mum Claudia and step sister Billie.

This birthday party is what she looks back on a year later when her family is smashed beyond repair, her country is trying to extricate itself from the chaos and turmoil it has been subjected to, and she’s reeling with loss and loneliness.

An MP had risen to power quickly on a vehicle of hate, racism, prejudice and lies. First it was letters to the public, reassessing whether they ‘belonged’ in the UK. It didn’t matter if they were born there, or what their profession is. When Clem’s super organised, doctor and loving step mum Claudia receives such a letter, the entire family is stunned.

Clem’s father is among many wanting to resist this regime and he becomes part of a resistance group. But it seems no one can hide from the authorities. When Clem herself must flee, she sets off to her Grandpa’s home in the country. There is no escaping the new regime however and Clem’s life is far from normal here too.

All she wants is for life to return to normal, but she knows that events along the way will never allow the old normal to return. The UK spirals even further into hate, suspicion and loss and Clem doesn’t know where to turn or who to trust.

A dystopian novel that seems scaringly close to possible, with immigration around the world stirring up bigotry, suspicion and lies. The slide into chaos around main character Clem and her family is gradual at first, with no one believing the key instigator will ever rise to power. Using media and propaganda to spread hate and lies, the downward spiral speeds up and everything the characters think impossible comes barging through their front door.

This story is told in pieces by main character Clem to a patient and kind social worker. A fairytale narrative runs alongside the real one as another story thread, and the secrets Clem holds are kept until she must finally reveal them. These twists surprised me more than once and made me reach for the tissues, for good and bad reasons.

An all too possible future which started with the unbelievable and became the unthinkable.

Novels like The Things We Leave Behind are so important to show us what is possible in our troubled world. 

Left me a little shell-shocked.

Author – Claire Furniss

Age – 12+

(2024, Simon & Schuster, Dystopian, Love, Family, Secret, Grief, Friendship, Prejudice, Racism, Loss, Journal, Fairytale, Chaos, Martial Law, Soldiers, Checkpoints, Rationing, London, Sisters, Blended Family, Riots, Hide)