The First Year by Matt Goodfellow- Verse Novel on School, Mental Health & Resilience (Ages 10+)

In The First Year, award-winning poet Matt Goodfellow captures the raw, real, and often tender experience of starting secondary school. Through a powerful series of poems, readers follow a boy navigating the ups and downs of a life that is changing fast — both at home and at school.

With honesty, heart, and hope, Goodfellow portrays friendships won and lost, worries that loom large, and small victories that feel monumental. It's a story about growing up, finding your place, and holding on to yourself when the world feels overwhelming.

Written with sharp emotion and beautiful simplicity, The First Year is a moving portrait of resilience, vulnerability, and the brave leap into the unknown.