I am delighted today to share my review for a very special story, Charlie and Me by Mark Lowery. This is my first book by this author and it was such a great surprise. I'll definitely be looking for more books by him.

Title: Charlie and Me: 421 Miles From Home

Author: Mark Lowery

Published: January 11th 2018 by Piccadilly Press

Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: Thirteen-year-old Martin and his younger brother Charlie are on a very special journey. They're going to be travelling 421 miles all the way from Preston to the very tip of Cornwall. By train, bus and taxi, they are determined to get there in the end; and they're hoping to catch a glimpse of the dolphin that regularly visits the harbour there. But is that the only reason they are going? 

It's a journey that's full of challenges and surprises. Martin adores his brother Charlie but he's not like ordinary kids. He's one in a million. He was born far too early, and ought to have died. And cheeky, irrepressible, utterly unique Charlie is always keeping Martin on his toes - especially on this crazy trip they are now on. Martin is doing his best to be a good big brother, but it's hard when there's something so huge coming once they get to Cornwall... 

An unforgettable novel that is by turns funny and heartbreaking.

Review: Charlie & Me is such a beautiful and sweet story. I absolutely loved it. When I first saw the colourful cover, I thought this would be a fun summer story. And in part, I was right, it is a very funny story, but it is so much more. It deals with more serious issues in a very tender way and I might have cried (I did) a few times (a lot).

Charlie is such a special character, he is always coming up with silly ideas and getting him and his brother Martin in trouble. But you can tell that Martin loves him and is ready to do whatever necessary to make him happy. The relationship between the two brothers is definitely a highlight of this story. I loved how close they were but also how they fought too and drove each other crazy. 

Something I thought worked really well, was that between characters you had lined pages with Martin's poems. He writes poems when he is stressed and doesn't know how to deal with a situation, so getting to read those poems really helped me to get to know him and understand how he is feeling.

This is definitely a great story for young readers but I am sure this story will steal you heart, no matter how old you are at all. 

Rating: 5 stars