A Boy Made of Blocks: The most uplifting novel of the year
As seen:
By Keith Stuart
avg rating
2 reviews
THE RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB AND NUMBER ONE AMAZON BESTSELLER
‘The publishing sensation of the year: a compelling, uplifting and heart-rending debut novel’
Mail on Sunday
A Boy Made of Blocks is a funny, heartwarming story of family and love inspired by the author’s own experiences with his son, the perfect latest obsession for fans of The Rosie Project, David Nicholls and Jojo Moyes.
A father who rediscovers love
Alex loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn’t understand him. He needs a reason to grab his future with both hands.
A son who shows him how to live
Meet eight-year-old Sam: beautiful, surprising – and different. To him the world is a frightening mystery. But as his imagination comes to life, his family will be changed . . . for good.
‘One of those wonderful books that makes you laugh and cry at the same time’
Good Housekeeping
‘Funny, expertly plotted and written with enormous heart. Readers who enjoyed The Rosie Project will love A Boy Made of Blocks – I did’
Graeme Simsion
‘Very funny, incredibly poignant and full of insight. Awesome.’
Jenny Colgan
‘Heartwarming’
The Unmumsy Mum
‘A wonderful, warm, insightful novel about family, friendship and love’
Daily Mail
‘A great plot, with a rare sense of honesty’
Guardian
‘A truly beautiful story’
Heat
‘A heartwarming and wise story’
Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love
Reviews
Don’t let the rather boring cover put you off! This is a really lovely and gripping story about Alex, a man in his thirties and Sam, his autistic eight year old son.
Alex loves Sam but doesn’t know how to bridge the gap between the “normal” world and the world Sam inhabits. He also struggles to cope with Sam’s outbursts and retreats to his boring, mundane job, preferring to leave his wife to resolve any issues.
Not surprisingly Jody, his incredibly patient wife, decides enough is enough and Alex has to move out of the family home. Without normal day to day contact, Alex struggles to find a way to make the time he can spend with Sam mean something to them both. And then he stumbles across the world of Minecraft.
The characters in this book leap off the page and you soon find yourself willing Alex to keep preserving and to find the bridge that will finally bring him close to his son.
I really enjoyed this book. The author obviously understands his subject matter.
Sam was a brilliant character and the relationship between Alex and Sam was very interesting to follow. Dan is the kind of friend we could all do with.
I would recommend this book.
