Changes

|title=Love in the Present Tense

|author=Catherine Ryan Hyde

|buy=Yes

|borrow=Yes

|pages=304

|publisher=Black Swan

|date=January 2007

|isbn=978-0552773645

}}

The front cover of this book describes it as: 'The magical story of a young boy's search for his mother' . This is misleading. Leonard, the young boy in question, is a remarkable child even at five years old when the main part of the story starts. His mother Pearl, who had him when she was only thirteen, is pretty amazing too. Street-wise, almost obsessively clean and tidy, and an intuitively good mother despite her extreme youth. However he never actually searches for her, even when she's gone.

The whole is very well put together, with a tidy conclusion, and by the time I was about half-way through it was difficult to put down. It's a book that I'll probably think about off and on during the next few weeks, because Leonard and Mitch have undoubtedly got under my skin. It's not one I'd necessarily have chosen to read, but I can see why it's made the Richard and Judy shortlist.

{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Tube Reads}}

{{amazontext|amazon=0552773646}}

{{commenthead}}