In a line: If you are a social worker, foster carer, teacher, work with challenging or excluded pupils, or you are an adopter, then this book will give you new insight into the complicated, chaotic and often tragic lives of children who live in poverty.

What’s In the Book

The Children of Albion is a fictional story that follows a young boy called Robbie as he tries to find his way in a world rife with poverty, drugs, disordered family lives and more.

Robbie is joined by a series of other friends, each with heart-breaking story yet you find yourself effortlessly falling in love with them. The book seamlessly weaves in issues of alcoholism, prostitution, drugs, shoplifting, breaking and entering and more as the young people try to survive without support from a system that neither understands their lives nor has the power to change them.

Despite his challenges, Robbie is an upbeat young man, ready to do whatever it takes to create a home and feed the tribe of youngsters who have nowhere else to go. This story is about the very human need for safety, for a home, for a sense of belonging and love, but in this case, set in a world that doesn’t care or is ready to exploit you at the drop of a needle.

What I liked about The Children of Albion

• The story and plot were fast paced and I was quickly drawn into their strange world
• The characters felt very real and believable, even if their stories broke my heart on so many levels
• Their lives were portrayed as complex balancing acts – I gained new compassion for these characters and their complicated lives
• I grew to really care for Robbie and what happened to him, willing him to find a way out of the mess of his family life without ever expecting an unrealistic Disney-esque happily-ever-after

This story grabbed me and dragged me into an invisible world that was packed with powerful, poignant characters who shared one commonality: parents who were absent, addicted and/or lost. I feel forever changed by the immersive experience of this story.

In Summary

The Children of Albion is a delight and a discomfort to read.
Robbie and his friends are characters I shan’t forget easily. Thank you Jill for giving me an insight into these lives so often written off in the media.