This Much Huxley Knows

Adorable! Just a feel good, happy and sweet book. Precious having it written in (Huxley), the 7 year old’s voice. Sometimes we just need to sit back and enjoy a light, yet meaningful read. This one fits the bill for sure!

I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. And Breaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.

Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?

Funny and compassionate, This Much Huxley Knows explores issues of belonging, friendship and what it means to trust. Will keep you reading and enjoying right to the very last page… and will desperately want more, loved every minute of the story… I couldn’t put this down…

Huxley is a very precocious young boy. His forté is understanding words by re-spelling them in his head. The fun in the story is his occasional misunderstanding of the meaning and the resultant chaos resulting from this error. His vocabulary is very advanced for his age group. However, in school he is often corrected by his teacher who recognizes his attempted faux pas, and he wonders why his jokes are curtailed.

He has difficulty making friends. One of his friends is Leonard, a senior invalid in a wheelchair. Leonard understands his jokes and is often good for a small piece of chocolate. The adults in the school community take umbrage to his hanging around the school yard and giving candy to the children.

The innocence of youth runs headlong into the wisdom of parents. He is told not to talk to Leonard or go near him. He is confounded by this directive and hurt by his fathers’ lack of understanding. Many of the other parents, especially the fathers, take it upon themselves to correct the situation.

The story is replete with suspicion and innuendo. The ending is satisfied when the situation with Leonard is fully understood. The author visits the situation from both the innocence of youth and the suspicion of the parents involved.

The manipulation of words by this young wordsmith makes the reading fun and amusing. I highly recommend it. 5 stars - CE Williams