Letters from the Upside

By Author / Illustrator

Katya Balen

Genre

Family & Home

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Bloomsbury Children's Books

ISBN

9781526663894

Format

Hardback

Published

25-09-2025

Synopsis

A captivating story about finding friendship and hope ... and a place where you can spread your wings. From Carnegie Medal winner Katya Balen.

Con has been angry ever since Dad left. He doesn't want to be. He wants to play FIFA with his best friend Kyron; to make his mum proud; to let people's words about his dad roll off him like water. Instead, rage builds inside him until he explodes. Now even Kyron is scared of him. And when Con gets suspended from school he knows he's let everyone down. The good person he longs to be feels unreachable.

And then his neighbour, Mr Williams, lets him in on a secret. Up on the roof of Con's building, Mr Williams keeps homing pigeons. Their feathers are the colour of pearls and storm clouds. Every day they fly out, carrying messages to people in other towns before finding their way home. Mr Williams wants Con's help looking after them. Con can't believe it. How could someone like him be trusted with these delicate creatures? But slowly, Con begins to believe that he can.

Then Mr Williams goes away for a few days. Con is left in charge, and he begins to wonder whether the pigeons might be able to bring home more than just messages. Perhaps they could find his dad.

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Reviews

Beverley

Con has been angry ever since his father left home. When a schoolmate taunts him about what's happened, Con's anger boils over and as a result he is suspended from school. With his mum at work, Con accidentally locks himself out of the flat they share. He is rescued by Mr Williams, who takes Con up to the roof of their building and introduces him to his beloved homing pigeons. Another neighbour, Gloria, has created a garden on the roof, a place of peace and tranquillity. Con is enthralled by the birds and jumps at the chance to look after them when Mr Williams has to go away for a few days. He decides to try and use the birds to track down his missing father. What could possibly go wrong?

Letters From the Upside is a beautifully written story about a boy who finds it hard to control his emotions. Con is such a brilliant character, I wanted to reach into the book and give him a hug! The author really gets under the skin of Con, and her descriptions of his anger; "Boiling. Roaring. Burning" are so evocative. He loves his mother, but feels he lets her down and that he is the reason his father left. His once best friend, Kyron, is distancing himself from Con, scared by his explosive outbursts. Even worse, Kyron is now friends with Mickey, Con's chief tormentor. Con feels everyone is against him, but the pigeons help to keep him calm and he loves the time he spends with them. When something terrible happens to Con's rooftop haven, he has to do all he can to put things right, and bring his little community together.

I feel that this is a book that could work well within the classroom; themes of friendship and family run through the story, but the reader is also shown how easy it is to misunderstand why a person behaves the way they do. Con is not a bad child; he is trying to deal with things beyond his control. This could inspire some interesting class discussions. The reader is also given a lot of fascinating information about homing pigeons, wrapped up in a moving and entertaining story.

Katya Balen is a talented and important voice in children's literature, and this book deserves its place in every school library. A lovely book, highly recommended.

288 pages / Reviewed by Beverley Somerset, school librarian