The Boy Who Steals Houses

by CG Drews

Overview

Can two broken boys find their perfect home? By turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, this is a gorgeously told, powerful story.

Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he's ever known. Now Sam's trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he's caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing - each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.

But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.

Heartfelt storytelling, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Jennifer Niven.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408349922
Publisher:	Hachette Children's
Publication date:	11/24/2020
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

C.G. Drews lives in Australia with her dog, a piano, and the goal of reading every book in existence. Consequently, her brain has overflowed with words and she spends her days writing novel after novel. She blogs at paperfury.com, never sleeps, and believes in cake for breakfast.

Editorial Reviews

If this moving novel doesn't leave you in floods of tears you may not have a heart.—Claire Hennessey, The Irish Times

This was one heck of a ride and I can't say that you won't shed a few tears, but you'll also probably burst into laughter along the way too, but either way, it will all be worth it, because Sam's story deserves to be read...Ultimately, it was an unforgettable experience, so please don't deny yourself the opportunity to step into Sam's world and let his story be heard.—Muse of Nyxmares blog

I'm 100% positive I'm never going to get over this book.—A Whisper of Ink - blog

From the Publisher

2020-03-11
A bleak, poignant story about families: those you’re born with, those you find, and those you try to steal.

Sammy Lou, only 15, and his autistic older brother, Avery, are homeless, scraping by on Avery’s precarious earnings and whatever Sammy can steal. Until he breaks into the De Lainey house, the polar opposite of empty: one dad, seven kids, and all their friends. Sammy hides in the effervescent chaos, aided by the gorgeous, ferocious, talented Moxie…until his past catches up with him. Australian author Drews leans hard on the pathos, burdening undersized Sammy (cued as white) with a runaway mother, a brutal criminal father, an abusive aunt, constant hunger, illness, and injury; but also an explosively violent temper and toxic co-dependency with Avery. Lush prose with distracting lapses into idiosyncratic formatting reveals a lonely, self-loathing teen yearning to belong. Avery is a complicated foil; his autism presents matter-of-factly, neither blamed for nor excusing his poor choices. Other characters are less well drawn; Moxie, with her olive skin and frizzy “chocolate hair,” may have her own goals but serves mostly as a vehicle for Sammy’s dreams; her brothers exist to be charmingly quirky; and every adult (except the improbably saintly De Lainey father) is cruel, exploitative, or at best indifferent. The downward spiral of Sam’s bad decisions accelerates until only a metaphorical fairy godparent can provide a barely hopeful resolution.

Depending on taste, either a heartbreaking evocation of feels or endless slog of misery. (Fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews