There are a lot of heavy topics discussed in this book but I feel they were dealt with respectfully and with the age of the target audience in mind.

I loved the setting, a little Tyneside village, and it's somewhere very familiar to me. I loved the portrayal of the area, and also of Tyler who came up from London. The portrayal of this culture shock is lovely to read.

This was a good book, and while it wasn't quite my cup of tea, I think it's quite an important one with the themes it tackles, and it will be very necessary for some people.

Sofa Surfer by Malcolm Duffy was a great novel about friendship between two unlikely characters and I have to say I loved it.

Moving from London to Ilkley, Yorkshire has never been in Tyler’s plans but it has certainly been in his parent’s. No teen would ever want to leave a bustling city for a boring small town. Tyler has no choice though. At least, he gets a pet dog. At best, meets a girl who makes him feel his life is far better than hers.

Homelessness is a global issue that governments struggle to tackle, and worse, we misjudge the homeless. But Malcolm breaks the stereotype with his Sofa Surfer! And, he handles a sensitive subject sensibly. Malcolm’s storytelling floats in our memory while his story’s core sinks in our consciousness.

Malcolm introduces us to the Geordie girl, Spider through the witty, smart and sympathetic, Tyler. Even after months, Tyler finds it hard to adjust to his new neighbourhood when Spider, a complete stranger approaches him at the Ilkley Lido to learn swimming. Like most of us he has no idea what it is like to be homeless. But, as Tyler gets to know Spider, he finds out the shocking reality of her life and, so do we.

Malcolm is just brilliant in showing the varied levels of physical and psychological problems Tyler and Spider face as teenagers, especially the pressure from family, distant or close. The ‘never give up’ attitude of Tyler to go that extra mile for someone he hardly knows touches your heart.

Malcolm Duffy’s Sofa Surfer opens our heart to those whom we most often neglect – the homeless: the people with feelings, and of course, pride! They do deserve a second chance. Don’t they?

Big subjects are tackled in this book with ease and subtlety. You genuinely feel sympathy and love for the characters and drawn in to the story.

This is another incredibly thought-provoking book from Malcolm Duffy. Despite the weighty subject matter it tackles, this book remains hopeful, and has a happy ending, without being mawkishly sentimental or unrealistic. In fact, I might have even convinced my dad to read it, and he only reads non-fiction.

SOFA SURFER is a relatively short book, but packs a lot of punch into its 300-odd pages. It will both open your eyes, call you to action and leave you hopeful.

Malcolm Duffy is a Geordie (from Tynside, like Spider). This means the dialect she uses is authentic, really giving a voice and life to her. Her speech doesn't stand out as a gimmick, but fits seamlessly into the narrative. It's written in such a way that makes it easy to read, unlike some dialects in books.

The book is set in the north east (a little south of Tynside), near where I spend half my year - and it's so accurate of that region. It feels exactly like England's North-East, which many books set in real locations fail to do (the number of London books that are a sanitised, fantasy version of my home is immense). The homelessness portrayed in the book is also well researched, neither condemning nor excusing it. It's stated as it is, without trivialising it to simply "a plot point".

Tyler is also a Londoner, so I could really empathise with him adjusting to the north (and the accents!). His heart is also in a wonderful place, even if his actions aren't as helpful as he'd like. The contrast between his problems and Spider's is a careful balance of exposing privilege without lecturing or shaming in such a way to offend the reader into putting the book down. It's a delicate line, and it's done so well as to prompt the reader into reflecting and action, rather than a defensive knee-jerk.

Review to be posted on my blog on February 13th as part of a blog tour.

Sofa Surfer is a young adult novel about a teenage boy who befriends a homeless girl and finds himself torn between helping her and obeying his parents' rules. When Tyler's parents move him and his sister from London to Yorkshire, he is furious at having to leave behind his life and friends. A ray of light comes when he agrees to help a strange girl learn to swim at the local lido, whose name is Spider. As Tyler is drawn into Spider's life, he discovers she is sofa surfing, and is about to be without a sofa. He wants to help, but his parents are wary and he has to lie to them to keep the peace.

This is a novel that tackles a big subject without being overdramatic, focusing on views about homelessness and how empathy and action can help, but also sometimes complicate things. Using Tyler's point of view as a fairly privileged teenager who is frustrated with his parents for typical teenage things gives the reader a way into the story, showing how for many people homelessness in any form isn't something they have to think about. Duffy keeps the content relatively light, touching on some of the harsher realities of living on the streets but creating a novel focusing on hope rather than grittiness. Sofa Surfer is a good book for showing younger readers some of the realities of homelessness whilst also having a protagonist who has relatable worries and fears.