Cardboard Cowboys is a novel for younger readers by British former teacher and author, Brian Conaghan. Twelve-year-old Lenny Lambert spends quite a few of his school hours on a bench by the canal. It’s not that he hates school. He enjoys the lessons, and the teachers are (mostly) encouraging and understanding; it’s the other kids that get to him. Lenny is overweight, and most of his classmates are cruel. The exception is Trisha Woods, who’s smart and kind.

Things aren’t that great at home, either. His Mum and Dad miss his older brother, Our Frankie, who’s a long way away. They worry about him, they care about him, and Lenny’s pretty sure they blame him for Frankie’s leaving; he’s pretty sure they hate him, and that Frankie does too. But it’s so long since he’s spoken to the brother he sorely misses, he is only guessing, and his parents have told him that calling or writing or visiting is out of the question. His mother’s muttered “Haven’t you done enough?” fills him with guilt.

So Lenny spends time on that bench, eating, drinking, composing haiku and singing to himself. But he’s thrown his Irn-Bru can down the bank, and is upbraided for littering by a guy with a scraggly beard in a red bobble hat and clunky boots. The guy lives down there! Lenny is curious, so he returns to check out the cardboard dwelling. Bruce, it turns out, is easy to talk to, and seems to understand Lenny’s problems immediately.

At the next school assembly, the head teacher announces a crackdown on truancy and a charity talent show. Neither of these is good news for Lenny. Despite what Trisha Woods suggests, there’s no way he could sing in front of people. But it’s the truancy letter to his parents that’s Lenny’s real concern. Then he has a brilliant idea…

What a wonderful tale! Conaghan easily puts the reader inside Lenny’s head and arouses empathy with this earnest young man. Lenny’s inner monologue is thoughtful and stirring, and the dialogue throughout the novel is clever and often funny. The road trip is delightful, and the preparation requiring Lenny’s courage sends a worthwhile message.

As well as exploring bullying and victim-blaming, the story touches on homelessness and the vital importance of communication. Conaghan gives his characters wise words and insightful observations: “…a person’s difference doesn’t give anyone else a free rein to abuse them… being different is what makes the world exciting. Difference brings joy to our lives.” Moving, thought-provoking and full of humour.