Many are describing it as the debut of the year, in an already crowded market
Evening Standard
A piercing story: fierce, touching and with the absolute ring of truth-to-experience
Sam Leith Simply told and never over-written
Emerald Street Top 10 Books of the Year
I think My Name is Leon is a really stand out novel
Alex Clark It's a wonderful book. I really enjoyed it. It is extremely affecting
Toby Lichtig Conjures the plight of children in care - and the Britain of the 1980s - with heartbreaking intensity
Harpers Bazaar
Beguiling, tender, funny, compassionate ... entirely heartbreaking without being bleak
Sunday Express
Searing
T2
The voice of Leon is distinctive, beguiling and ultimately compelling, resonant of the young narrators in Room or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
RTE Guide
Deeply moving, compulsively readable and, despite the heart-rending subject matter, often funny
Irish Times
Full of small exquisite details, de Waal's novel is ultimately affirmative. But be warned - it's a bit of a weepie
Metro
Heart-breaking yet told with wit and compassion - I loved it
Woman and Home
Powerful and gorgeously written...may make you cry, but it's also uplifting and full of hope
Good Housekeeping
A touching, thought-provoking debut
Guardian
Everything in My Name Is Leon rings true. It's an everyday story and this actually makes it more powerful: these are the lows and joys of real life. Someone will be living them as you read
Emerald Street
Searing
The Times
A funny, sad and endearing debut
Psychologies
My debut of the year so far...heartbreaking and warm at the same time
Stylist
The unforgettable story of a boy struggling to belong, and the author captures both his mindset and the period impeccably. Heartbreaking and uplifting - just read it
Daily Mail
Hotly anticipated and heartbreaking... a great read...it's no mean feat for a debut to so perfectly capture the world through the eyes of a child...his illuminating child's eye view of adult affairs harks back to the likes of Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Sawyer and more recently Mark Haddon's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Mariella Frostrup, BBC Radio 4 A compelling story... Kit de Waal is to be congratulated
Jane Shemilt, bestselling author of 'Daughter' Beautiful and heartbreaking - I cried buckets of tears for Leon and his family
Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of 'The Last Act of Love' Leon is pure goodwill in a wicked world, and he won't leave you when you put this unique book down. Authentic and beautiful, urgent and honest, this novel does what only the best do: it quietly makes room in your heart. At the end of the story I couldn't bear to close the book on Leon. I felt I was abandoning him. I wanted to talk about it straight away with someone else who'd read it, and I know a great many readers will feel the same.
Chris Cleave, bestselling author of 'The Other Hand' Vivid and endearing - a very powerful book
Emma Healey, bestselling author of 'Elizabeth is Missing' A beautiful story told with compassion, urgency and wit
Stephen Kelman, author of the Booker-shortlisted 'Pigeon English' Tender and heart-breaking
Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' A brother chosen. A brother left behind. And a family where you'd least expect to find one
Publisher's description