Well hello to you my reader chums! I love discovering a book and falling in love with it and that's what happened with this book. I picked it up in a local bookshop in one of those surprise packages where you don't know what you're going to read. After I finally picked it up from my TBR pile, I couldn't believe I hadn't read it sooner.

If you're interested in picking up a thriller, here is my full review of Odd Child Out by Gilly Macmillan.

Plotline

The plot follows two best friends, Noah and Abdi who have been inseparable since they met. They were the two kids who always stuck together when their peers excluded them. However, when a horrible accident leaves Noah in a coma fighting for his life, Abdi is too traumatised to say anything about what happened. It also follows the perspective of DI Jim Clemo, who has returned to work after an enforced leave of absence and is tasked to figure out what happened to Noah. Based in a city where racial tensions are running high, it's down to him to figure out what drove two teenage boys into a situation so desperate. It's up to the boys to talk, but one can't one won't.

Characters and relationships

The characters in this book were fascinating as they all had different personalities and backgrounds, and each person's character development was written so cleverly. Noah was a character that I liked at the beginning and sympathised with because of his illness but as the plot thickened, I swayed away from him and was more interested in learning about the other characters. Abdi, was completely different to Noah despite their friendship and I loved reading about them two and how they were the best of friends and what made their relationship so real.

One of the most interesting parts of the characters was the two families, Noah's and Abdi's. Noah was from a rich white background and lived in a huge mansion, whilst Abdi's family was originally from Somalia and were refugees. I think the author does an incredible job of exploring the issue of race in the UK, and how because of that the investigation of what happened was affected and misunderstood.

The detective was an interesting character to learn more about because the book delved into his life as much as it did the two teenage boys which added layers to the overall plotline.

Overall thoughts

Overall, I absolutely loved this book. I started out thinking it was going to go one way, and it took several complete twists and turns multiple times in the book, and I wasn't sure how it would end. It's a book that didn't just have an incredible twist to figure out what happened to Noah but also touched on many issues. The book delves into understanding what living in a refugee camp can entail and the physical and mental effects it can have on the person. It discusses racial and class issues throughout the storyline. The book also focuses on abusive relationships and really encapsulates what a friendship can look like from two different backgrounds. And, it talks about the hardship of a family when a child is diagnosed with cancer. 

I loved how the book has an incredible amount of insight to it and as well as being able to enjoy a read, I also learnt more about different perspectives and what that means for society as a whole.

Ending

The ending of this book was incredible. I felt like in the last section of the book, all the layers that were built up throughout it finally came together and I sat there thinking 'wow'. It was cleverly written and ended on the right note for the plotline. I will say, the whole book and ending were incredibly heartbreaking and touched on many horrific elements which happen to many people around the world.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Do you like thrillers?

Thank you for reading <3