SuitabookBoy in the Tower
Polly Ho-Yen
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside the child rather than front-loading explanations. Pause after major changes to ask what Ade knows, what remains uncertain, and which kinds of help the neighbours can realistically offer.
- Themes
- Responsibility and care: Ade is highly capable while his mother becomes increasingly withdrawn, and he forms bonds with neighbours who remain in the tower. The situation invites attention to both the strain of unmet care and the compassion owed to someone who cannot currently provide it; neither a simple blame judgement nor the ending is established.
- Community under pressure: A small group of remaining neighbours works together while the city is overtaken and outside help is delayed. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Threat and uncertainty: Concrete-destroying plants and deadly spores threaten buildings and restrict escape, while the narrative stays close to Ade’s limited understanding. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The book deserves attention for mental-health-related family strain, isolation, grief and frightening environmental danger. The emotional weight may be especially noticeable because Ade is portrayed as carrying substantial responsibility while his mother is unwell.