Six Weeks: An unforgettable new story from the award-winning author of The Final Year

By Author / Illustrator

Matt Goodfellow, illus Joe Todd-Stanton

Genre

Poetry

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Hachette Children's Group

ISBN

9781444982886

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

04-06-2026

Synopsis

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.

'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.

Reviews

Sue

Alfie Piper now lives with his dad and his wife, Sophie, who have a baby girl, Alice. Alice was born the day before Alfie's mum died and he can't believe that his favourite person in all the world has gone. Full of churning feelings of anger, grief and confusion, Alfie is faced with the six long weeks of summer holiday, trying to keep his emotions at bay by taking long rides on his bike. However, as the weeks pass, little by little, things improve.

That has to be the worst synopsis I have ever written, but there is no way to summarise such a poignant, powerful story successfully. In Six Weeks, Matt Goodfellow has once again proven himself to be a consummate storyteller whose skill is to be wondered at.

One of the reason Matt's verse novels are so popular with children is the way in which he effortlessly captures raw emotions so succinctly and with such understanding. Stripped back to the essentials, every word counts, resulting in places in lyrics which command such power and leave you sobbing. Am I overdoing my praise here? Not a bit of it- read the book and you'll see.

Whilst coping with his grief, Alfie discovers things about his parents and their lives before he was part of them. Their relationship didn't last and each started a new family. Although Alfie always got on with Sophie, his dad's new wife, and felt loved and accepted by her, her mum's new partner is a different story. Referred to as 'him', always in bold, Alfie's resentment and hatred of this man are palpable, and made even more fierce by the fact that he, not Alfie, was with Alfie's mum when she died. Through talking to those around him, through spending time with this man who he thought he hated, Alfie comes to understand those around him more, allowing him to cope better with his loss.

The power of nature to heal and the power of sharing seemingly overwhelming feelings help Alfie, not to miraculously heal and return to 'normal' but to move forwards, seeing the light of his mother around him and finding some sense of peace.

Utterly wonderful and beautifully written as Six Weeks is, I must also mention Joe Todd-Stanton's illustrations which enhance the text perfectly.

304 pages / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher