Changes

Many more children are dealing with alcoholic parents than we care to imagine. David Yelland, a former editor of ''The Sun'', knows it only too well. He himself is a recovering alcoholic. His wife died of breast cancer. And his son, Max, had to deal with a single parent that drank too much. Yelland has said, ''I am not the father in this novel – he is the man I nearly was'' - and this intimacy with the subject comes through very clearly in his book. We see Leo's heartbreaking isolation. He's grieving for a lost mother ''and'' a lost father, even though only one parent has died. We see his need as he tries desperately to cover up for his father's drinking, keeping the house clean and tidy and trying to hide his bottles. And we see his inevitable retreat from such a chaotic and troubling world as he lives inside happier daydreams and fails to pay attention at school.

I'm all for books that break damaging taboos and I think ''The Truth About Leo'' is a wonderful and valuable example. It made me cry, but it also made me feel very strongly that it was doing the right thing by opening this subject up for discussion - to children as well as adults. Hopefully, it will make at least one child feel less alone.