The Final Year

It is such a good book with some sad bits in it but it all turns out good in the end i would definetly recommend it to people who like turn twisters

I liked this book because it was about a boy who goes through a hard time in life without a dad but with his mum, her friend and his 2 brothers.

This book was accessible and engaging for both myself and my students. They loved the characters and felt like they related to them and the story was engaging and interesting.

It just shows how hard life can be for some people, but doesn't give up hope.

Absolutely brilliant. Can't wait to share this with Year 6 - especially those who "don't like poetry" as I think it'll change their minds. Cleverly written and very relatable to the target audience and adults alike

Amazing narrative about a year 6 child moving to secondary school. Told from the perspective of the child in their language - brilliant idea to engage the children.

What a beautiful story or love, friendship and kindness.

My Thoughts on The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow and Joe Todd-Stanton

The Final Year is a fiction book, but it feels very real. It’s written like a poem or a diary, and it’s about a boy named Nate who is going through his last year of primary school. It talks about things like friendship, family, growing up, and dealing with tough times, like his parents splitting up and his grandad being sick.

My Favourite Character:
My favourite character was Nate, the main boy. He’s kind, thoughtful, and honest about how he feels. Sometimes he’s sad or confused, but he keeps going. I liked how he used writing and poetry to help him understand his feelings. He felt like a real person.

Why It’s Interesting:
It’s interesting because it shows what it’s really like to be in Year 6—worrying about SATs, moving to secondary school, and leaving your friends. A lot of the things that happen in the book are things that real kids go through, so it was easy to understand and connect with.

Would I Recommend It?
Yes! I would recommend The Final Year to anyone in Year 6 or about to leave primary school. It helps you feel less alone if you’re going through changes, and it’s written in a way that’s really easy and fun to read. The pictures are great too!

It’s a book that makes you feel all kinds of emotions—happy, sad, hopeful, and proud. I really liked it!

Story told in verse about the challenges of growing up, changing friend groups and coping with illness in the family. Authentic feeling voice of the main character remconed to students in years 5-8

It really boosted my confidence to go to year 6 because teachers will help me

The best book about keeping on going through troubles in your life and having an amazing ending

A lovely book written in verse. The style was new to lots of children in the class when I introduced them to it and they loved it. The story itself is very moving and some delicate topics mean it is more suitable for older primary readers.

Incredible

This powerful verse novel moved me to tears. An emotional but beautiful story about change, friendship, families and the power of words. Brilliant for children and adults alike.

Nate is a boy in the last year of primary school. It should be fine, as long as he has a friend. But he loses his friend and his smaller brother is sick, and all turns out badly. The story is very emotional, although it does not look very interesting.

I really enjoyed this book because of the amazing illustrations, and the emotions it captured. My favourite character is Caleb because of his quiet personality.

Great read

Just incredible. Amazing voice, great scene setting, lovely pace, heartstrings tugged and tears fell. Brilliant brilliant book

Fantastic and heartwarming book. Emotional at times and really relatable to school life. You can tell a teacher has written it as it is very relatable.

Wow!
This fictional book could relate to very real-life scenarios. As a trainee teacher this has helped me to reflect on my practice and to make sure my learners know they can come to me with any worries or issues they feel or are going through.
Tissues definitely needed.

Thought-provoking, not always easy to read. Loved the writing style.
A powerful read. Definitely recommend.

What a fantastic story - it's realistic, moving, challenging and rewarding. It's truly close to the bone. The language is both beautiful and clever. To tell a tale like this in poems and really engage the reader is wonderfully surprising and incredibly easy to read too; I guarantee you'll be sucked into Nate's life and worries and dreams as if you are back in Year 6 yourself.

This is a gorgeous book to share with Year 6s as they prepare for their final year in primary school. My class loved following Nate’s story and how the pictures helped to tell the story! It is so thoughtfully and cleverly written that I read it in one sitting before sharing with my class. We read this in our class read time and it only took us a week to get through. They couldn’t wait to read the next instalment. It’s rare to find a book that resonates with what children are going through today and the challenges they may face in modern life. Fantastic!

Stunning. So good to hear a story from this perspective. Incredibly relatable for our kids. Loads to unpick, beautiful language.

Wonderful

It's a great book but emotional. It looks at different family situations and how things can affect how we do in life. It is quite tense I'm places but good.

It was a cool book

My favourite character was Nate because he was really brave even when his brother got ill and he always looked after his younger brothers.

This book, written in poetic style, was a delight to read. The main character would be relatable to many of the children I know and there were so many key themes to discuss from the text, it makes an excellent read - or fantastic GR focus.

Read this last year and shared with Y6. Read again this summer- I’m sure this gets better with every read.