The Piano at the Station

Helen Rutter's The Piano at the Station is a moving school story for 11 year olds about a girl who's always in trouble, until she sits down at a piano.

What happens

Lacey Layton is in Year Seven and spends more time in isolation than in lessons. Her brain comes up with a million cheeky answers to every teacher. Some days she manages to keep them in. Most days she doesn't.

She's also very loyal. When a girl sneers that she probably can't afford to wash, Lacey shoves her. The head's patience is running out, and there's one last idea to try. Lacey is sent to spend her lunchtimes with Mr Day, a visiting music tutor.

She's sure he'll try to get her talking about her feelings. Instead he gets her tuning a broken guitar. Then he sits her at a piano and tells her to play only the black notes.

That moment is lovely. The notes sound right together, and for the first time the noise in Lacey's head goes quiet. Soon she's practising on her baby sister's toy keyboard, locked in the bathroom with the volume turned right down.

Mr Day is such a good grown-up. He's patient and a bit embarrassing (he sings a note out loud to show her the tuner). He never pushes her, which is exactly why she starts to trust him. So it really hurts when she finds out he's leaving at the end of term.

Lacey's voice is very funny. She lists her top three comebacks before she's even answered him! You're laughing at her one minute and wanting to give her a hug the next.

Her home life is tough and the book doesn't hide it. Her dad has left, and when he turns up at her little sister's birthday her parents end up screaming at each other while Lacey keeps the younger ones upstairs. There's some swearing, and before the book begins she's already punched a girl for being rude about her mum.

If your reader is sensitive to shouting at home, it's worth knowing that's there. If they've ever been the "naughty" one in class, they might find a lot to recognise in Lacey. Who hasn't wanted one grown-up to see what they're actually good at?

What to read next

If Lacey wins your reader over, Helen Rutter's The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh has Billy, who dreams of being a stand-up comedian even though his stammer gets in the way of every punchline.