Tom Playfair; or Making a Start
Recommended. Age: 10+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
Father Finn wrote for real boys, and it shows. Tom is no plaster saint. He is loud, brave and stubborn, and grace works on him through friends, Jesuit teachers and his First Communion. Holiness looks like an adventure here. The reservation is weight: a classmate is murdered and dies, and the 1890s prose asks patience of modern readers.
For parents
Read aloud from 8, a fine choice in First Communion year. Independent reading from 10 or 11. Warn tender children that a good boy is murdered. Tom twice uses a racial slur for a Black porter. Say plainly that it is wrong. Ask why James's death made Tom braver, not bitter.