Is it ever okay
for a parent to lie to a child?
All of his life
– or the part within living memory – it’s just been Matt and his father, Dave
Hudson. Dave is an earnest sort who constantly seeks parenting tips from a
well-thumbed book. So when Matt discovers that he has been lied to for his
entire life– that his dead mother is actually alive – his world is ripped
apart.
White takes the
reader on a heart-wrenching journey. Matt is furious and takes his anger out as
best he can, lashing out to hurt Dave and getting into trouble with the police.
Very well written, the reader can feel Matt’s visceral reactions. Matt has no
guide, nobody who understands him, so turns to a fellow motherless person - Leonardo
DaVinci, in a series of letters to explore his feelings and responses.
Matt is as
determined to find his mother as his father is to stop him. However, his investigations
lead him to dead ends until a chance viewing of a painting gives him the clue he
needs.
Naturally, Matt
is both fascinated and terrified, but he eventually meets his mother and she
suddenly becomes a part of his life.
His mother
alternates between encouraging a relationship and pushing him away, like a tide
that ebbs and flows but has to run its course. Despite Dave’s pleas and warnings
to not trust her, Matt is naive and vulnerable because he wants what all his
peers have – a Mum. And although he wants the truth, he does not always hear it
when it is spoken.
Matt opens
himself to her, which leads to a whirlwind of events. His mother’s behaviour
becomes gradually more erratic, and Matt learns just how profound the effects
of a mental illness are: her bipolar disorder dictates every moment of her
life. And because he is now a part of her life, it reverberates onto him.
The events climax
in a tragic ending that will shock the reader.
Read KBR's special guest post by author, Dee White, in which she outlines the motivation behind this alternative ending second edition of her original novel, Letters to Leonardo.
Title: Letters
to Leonardo: The Truth Changes Everything
Author: Dee
White
Illustrator: Cover
art by Tania McCartney
Publisher: Mazo
Publishers, $21.50
Publication
Date: 6 June 2019
Format:
Paperback
ISBN: 9781946124555
For ages: 14+
Type: Young
Adult Fiction