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Six Weeks

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Six Weeks

By: Matt Goodfellow, Joe Todd-Stanton
Narrated by: Matt Goodfellow
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'Extraordinary ... a slow, beautifully handled exploration of the past, grief and healing. Painful and authentic, it's full of wisdom, hope and a resolution that will make you cry' The Daily Mail
Utterly magnificient' Liz Hyder
'Matt Goodfellow's best novel to date' Sarah Crossan
'Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant' Phil Earle
'Goodfellow has pulled off something astounding' Anthony McGowan
All at once beautiful, tender, funny and sharp ... a triumph' Katya Balen

The hotly anticipated new book from award-winning writer Matt Goodfellow, author of bestselling The Final Year. Meet Alfie Piper, embarking on a summer he'll never forget ...

Alfie Piper has six weeks of summer - and nothing left to lose.

Since his mum died, Alfie's world has unravelled. The silence between him and his stepdad roars louder than ever.

So he does the only thing that makes sense: grabs his bike, and rides.

In these long summer days, can Alfie rebuild what was broken?

Compulsively readable and beautifully-written, this is an unforgettable story of love and loss, family and hope. From Matt Goodfellow, winner of the CLiPPA Award - with breathtaking illustrations from Joe Todd-Stanton. ©2026 Matt Goodfellow (P)2026 Hachette Children's Group Literature & Fiction Poetry & Nursery Rhymes Stories in Verse Funny Inspiring
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Critic reviews

This heartbreakingly poignant 11+ verse novel delicately traces the slow, non-linear processes of acceptance and healing, heightened by Todd-Stanton's shadowy, sweet black-and-white illustrations
This extraordinary free verse novel is a raw and almost overwhelming study of grief, love, family and hope...a slow, beautifully handled exploration of the past, grief and healing. Painful and authentic, it's full of wisdom, hope and a resolution that will make you cry. I did.
Beautifully handled, warm and wise
A poignant story
Jaw droppingly good - perhaps one of the most emotionally powerful children's books of the past few years
A moving story told in verse about grief and family and love and loss
Six Weeks is a beautifully written verse novel...the illustrations throughout this book are thoughtfully drawn and evoke both the despair and the slow dawn beautifully
All stars
Most relevant
Matt’s writing is so, so powerful. This is the story of an ordinary boy from a complicated family, trying to come to terms with the devastating loss of his mum, It seems at the beginning that he’s on his own with his grief, as other members of his family get on with their lives whilst he can’t. There is no sugar coating of all the facets of grief - anger, vulnerability, guilt, despair - and I was in tears reading it. You feel Alfie’s pain viscerally. Then he learns he’s not quite on his own in the depths of grief, and that’s where the light gets in.

Matt’s narration comes straight from the heart and brings Alfie’s world and story to life (it’s a world I know and it felt so familiar). It will speak as much to adults as to children. Just beautiful. What a book.

Raw and honest, but full of heart and hope

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This was a tear jerker. A strong protagonist and a heart breaking story about a young boy's mum dying and trying to navigate through the early days of grief.

Beautiful story and narration

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