Just So Stories

Hachette Australia

Imprint: Starboard

June 2026

9781444982886

RRP $16.99

It never ceases to amaze me when I happen to read two books within a week and they both have a similar central theme, in this case a young person’s grief.

This is yet another verse novel that has continued to grow this genre as one of my best-liked. I was unfamiliar with Matt Goodfellow’s previous books but if this is any indication I’ll be seeking them out. It was quite intensely personal at times as young Alfie is deeply grieving the loss of his mum, who was just 39 when she died [Jen was 34 when we lost her and K’s grief, as well as mine, so vividly intense still despite over 11 years passing].

His parents have long since split up. His dad has a new wife and Alfie has an adorable little sister and he does truly love them all but a year on from his mother’s death, his grief is still raw and unshakeable. He has avoided friends, he’s lost touch with his mother’s family (more accurately, they have abandoned him) and most of all, he has completely severed the connection with his mother’s partner because the friction between Alfie and ‘him’ was always fraught and openly hostile.

But that aphorism about time healing all wounds, like many, does have a kernel of truth and as Alfie begins to slowly consider his grief from other perspectives i.e. he thinks more deeply and analyses his reactions to other factors such as the cutting out of ‘him’ and the lack of concern from his mother’s family, he begins to also rationalise his feelings, considers his mother’s relationship, as well as her unique personality, without his own prejudice, and also finally makes a tentative overture to healing the chasm between the partner, Chris, and himself. Their shared sorrow over their mutual loss becomes a conduit to them building the relationship they’ve never had.

Alfie’s journey of despair to acceptance to emotional rebuilding is so moving and so intense that the reader cannot help but be affected by his sorrow and anguish. The resolution of his conflict with his step-dad and the lessening of that intensity of bereavement also paves the way for a reconnection with his friends, particularly his life-long bestie, as well as a deepening of his relationship with his dad and step-mother. While his connection to his grandmother is always going to be fraught, he comes to know that it is her harsh judgements and lack of understanding towards his mother that have always skewed her feelings.

This is a book with many layers which readers of maturity and emotional intelligence will find profoundly moving and intensely satisfying. I read it in one sitting and was completely engrossed with Alfie’s journey of healing, not just because I could relate to it completely. It is a superbly written work and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s a 5 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹rating for readers from upper primary to mid-secondary.