Matthew Corbin suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. He hasn’t been to school in weeks. His hands are cracked and bleeding from cleaning. He refuses to leave his bedroom. To pass the time, he observes his neighbors from his bedroom window, making mundane notes about their habits as they bustle about the cul-de-sac. 

When a toddler staying next door goes missing, it becomes apparent that Matthew was the last person to see him alive. Suddenly, Matthew finds himself at the center of a high-stakes mystery, and every one of his neighbors is a suspect. Matthew is the key to figuring out what happened and potentially saving a child’s life… but is he able to do so if it means exposing his own secrets, and stepping out from the safety of his home?

When a student hands you a book and tells you that it’s so good and you have to read it… you HAVE to read it! So I did!

I was NOT expecting the story that unfolded. I expected a funny, lighthearted middle grade book with an interesting cast of characters. But I guess I did a very good job at explaining to my students the type of books I love because the boy who recommended it to me… NAILED it!

Lisa Thompson managed to deliver a story about some very serious mental health issues to readers of middle grade novels in a way that children would be able to understand and possibly relate to. She also managed to add some lighthearted humor, family drama, school aged rivalry and a good old fashioned crime! No wonder my student recommended it!

I think we both agree that The Goldfish Boy is a huge 5 star hit!!

Lisa Thompson is a children’s novelist born in Essex, UK on 5th May, 1973. Her debut novel, The Goldfish Boy, was bought as part of a two-book deal with Scholastic (UK). It was published in the UK in January 2017, where it was a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month and went on to become a bestseller. The US version was published by Scholastic Inc in February 2017 and was given a starred review by Kirkus Reviews. The Goldfish Boy has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal, The Branford Boase Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. It has been sold to nine territories around the world.

Lisa’s second novel, The Light Jar, was published in the UK in January 2018.

Before becoming a novelist, Lisa worked as a broadcast assistant for BBC Radio 2 and CPL Productions where she got to make tea for lots of famous people. She lives in Suffolk, UK with her family.

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