The Space We’re In

Katya Balen's The Space We're In is a moving family story for 10 year olds, told by a boy counting down the days until his little brother starts school.

What happens

Frank is ten and he loves football, space facts and codes. He keeps his bedroom locked with a padlock. His brother Max is five. Max doesn't talk. He hums and flaps and spins, eats only four foods, and has fifteen copies of the same grey T-shirt with yellow stripes.

When Max can't cope, he melts down, and Frank hates that word because there's nothing soft about it. A trip to buy new school shoes ends with Max biting his fists in the middle of the shop while everyone stares.

It's the summer before Max starts at a special school, and the whole house revolves around getting him ready. Mum used to paint galaxies in the attic. Now she hasn't got time. Dad is always at work. And Frank, who's about to be in Year Six, feels like there's no room left for him at all.

Frank tells it in long, tumbling sentences that run on like his thoughts do. He's funny and clever and fiercely honest, including about the things he's ashamed of. It's an experience a lot of brothers and sisters will recognise, loving someone and being cross with them at the same time.

There are lovely moments too. Frank and Mum have a secret Morse code they tap onto each other's hands. A day at the seaside with Dad is pure joy. And every chapter opens with a string of numbers that turns out to be one of Frank's codes (your reader will want to crack them).

This one can be hard going in places. Max hurts himself when he melts down, and once gave Mum a black eye without meaning to. Frank laughs along when some older boys use a cruel word about his brother, and then hates himself for it. Mum and Dad are clearly struggling, and there are tears on both sides.

If your reader has a brother or sister with extra needs, this could feel very close to home, in a comforting way or a hard one (you'll know which). For a thoughtful reader who likes real feelings more than adventure, it's a beautiful book.

What to read next

Another story told from inside a family, where the world can feel much too loud, is A Kind of Spark. Addie is being shouted at by a new teacher, and the one person who can always explain things to her is her big sister Keedie.