This Boy I Hardly Know

By Author / Illustrator

Lisa Heathfield

Genre

Family & Home

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Andersen Press

ISBN

9781839137839

Format

Paperback / softback

Expected

07-05-2026

Synopsis

16-year-old Dusty is smart, talented and fiercely protective of her younger sister, Poppy. They've been moved from foster carer to foster carer, until one day the unthinkable happens: Dusty and Poppy are separated, and no one can say when they will see each other again.

Devastated but determined, Dusty has to find a way to reach Poppy. Everything seems stacked against her until she meets beautiful, fearless Cooper at her children's home, and together they decide to run . . .

'What they want is love . . . they'll cross the country and break their hearts to hang on to it' Melvin Burgess. 'Raw, real, and full of heart' Ciara Smyth. 'Daisy and Cooper have my heart entirely' Louisa Reid. 'Full of urgent love, complex betrayals and ferocious secrets' Luke Palmer

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Reviews

Clair

I was so excited to receive this book to review! Lisa Heathfield is my favourite YA author; I have loved everything that she has written so far and This Boy I Hardly Know certainly did not disappoint. It is yet another powerful read!

16-year-old Dusty has been moved from one foster care placement to another with her younger sister, Poppy. However, the care system is stretched to breaking point, there aren't any suitable placements that will take siblings. This is the first time they are to be separated.

Dusty isn't able to be placed with a family and is sent alone to a children's home in a different town. Dusty is devastated by this and is determined to find a way to reunite with Poppy. Dusty meets Cooper at the children's home and they're so good for each other. They ground each other and Cooper really looks after Dusty in some tricky situations when they go on the run together.

This Boy I hardly know is a moving and thought-provoking read about the fractured care system and children within it. It's a great choice for teenagers who enjoy realistic fiction because Lisa Heathfield writes in such a real and honest way. Inspired by the author's own experience of working within the UK care system, it really brings to light the issues faced by children in the care system.

I think it is a must read for anyone working with a child in care as well as being a great romance with lots of tense moments.

Content of note: Children in care run away, Strong language, drinking leading to an attempted sexual assault.

336 pages / Reviewed by Clair Bossons, school librarian