Review: "Good Night, Mr. Tom" by Michelle Magorian

Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
Published 1981
★★★★★

A childhood favourite—I read this so many times when I was younger that I'm actually kind of staggered that this is apparently my first reread in fifteen years or more.

For the most part, this stands the test of time brilliantly. Magorian builds characters so thoroughly and thoughtfully, and even though I knew every plot point of the book, it managed to break my heart all over again. Such wonderful details, too.

If I'd read this for the first time now, I'd probably give it four stars; it's a beautiful book, but it is also a bit of a cliché (grumpy old man with a heart of gold and all that). I'm not sure that either Tom or William ever does anything bad or even wrong—Tom never gets angry; I don't think he makes a single mistake as a guardian/foster parent; other than one upset moment, William never acts out, and on the rare occasion that he breaks a rule, there's a ton of context. (I think there's an argument to be made that some of this comes down to trauma response, but then, this is a book written in the early 80s for children, and I think it's already doing a pretty good job at addressing trauma!)

As it is, though, I'd still recommend this highly and widely...and I'll still read it again in a year or two or fifteen, and I'll probably still give it five stars then too.