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2023: Sometimes, the friend you need is the one you never saw coming.
2023: Sometimes, the friend you need is the one you never saw coming.
Frank and Red are a mess.
Frank is a grumpy old curmudgeon. A recluse whose only company is the ‘ghost’ of his dead wife, Marcie. He is estranged from his friends, his son, and the ever-changing world beyond his front gate.
And then Red moves in next door.
Red is six. A boy struggling to adjust to the separation of his mum and dad, a new school, and the demonic school bully. Red is curious, smart, he never stops talking, and he’s got a trampoline.
From the moment Red’s blonde mop appears over the top of the fence that divides their two gardens, the unlikeliest of friendships is born.
. . . And it is a friendship that will change both of their lives forever.
London
The city is not a strong player in this story. The story could be set anywhere, any large city where a family moves from one side to the other. For a young child, this is a huge distance and feels like another world.
Places sound real – the Fairfield pub and St Agnes Church. It’s ‘never specified where in London they move to or from but that doesn’t matter – the heart of the story is in Red and Frank.
I was sick in bed with cold at the weekend and I needed a book to cheer me up. This was it. A warm hug in a book. I swear it cleared my sore throat and tired eyes with all the tears of laughter and sadness I produced whilst reading it.
Frank is grumpy and old- Red is young and carefree. When the two meet, it’s just heart-warming whilst also being reflective and sad. Frank – oh how I wanted to hug him! Poor Frank but with a heart of gold.
Red is only six bless him but he moves in next door with his mum. She and his father are divorced so Red misses his dad. He’s also getting bullied at school and then he meets Frank.
There has to be a movie of this. If it’s half as good as the movie that played in my head as I read, then it’s going to be fantastic. I’ve already started thinking of a cast.
Off to do some puzzles, start a Reflection Diary and sit in a coffee shop and hope I attract a real life Frank and Red to join me.
Just lovely.
Destination: London Author/guide: Matt Coyne Departure Time: 2023
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