The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews

The Blurb On The Back:

Sam breaks into strangers’ houses every night.

But it’s not about stealing from houses, it’s about stealing THE houses.

He tricks locks and sleeps in stolen beds, because he just wants to find a home

Can two broken boys find their perfect home?

Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing - each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for teenager daughter, Moxie.

But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

C. G. Drews’s YA contemporary novel is a beautifully written story about homelessness, desperation, violence and the need to belong. I completely believed in Sam as a confused boy desperate not to be like his father but unable to find another way to help Avery and the romance between him and Moxie is sweetly depicted, but I did have some concerns about autism sometimes being portrayed as a burden for Sam to bear.

THE BOY WHO STEALS HOUSES was released in the United Kingdom on 4th April 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.