9 / 10
It is honestly not even surprising that Cait’s writing has, again, made me sob. This book was just jam-packed full of emotions and heartfelt-ness that it’s hard to comprehend it properly.
In The Boy Who Steals Houses, we meet the most adorable and love-deserving boy that is Sam. A boy who fiercely loves his brother Avery and just wants to have a home. His character is just so well written with very dark and sensitive flashbacks (there are quite a few trigger warnings in this novel, please be aware).
His personality is endearing and the struggles he’s had to go through are immense for someone his age. He didn’t have the freedom to come into his own independence at around the age he is now but instead, has always been taking care of his older autistic brother. Sam isn’t a bad person but only seems to be able to protect his brother the one way he knows and that’s by being pretty violent to whoever picks on Avery. The juxtaposition of his kind yet flawed personality doing these acts for the opposite reasons to what his father had when he was physically abusing Sam and Avery makes him question whether he really is a good person because he doesn’t know how else to react to defend himself or his brother. This question of morality hits just as hard as seeing these brothers struggle in flashbacks when they were abandoned to their unloving aunt.
Sam and Avery’s relationship are so complex and well-woven into the story. Sam loves Avery and would do anything for him but having to look after him all the time (especially being the younger brother) begs the questions of who’s looking after Sam? Their past trauma and the autistic representation were brilliantly written, especially Sam’s anxiety symptoms.
When Sam accidentally breaks into a house that is still being lived in, we are introduced to the DeLainey’s who are just the classic, almost cheaper by the dozen big, chaotic family. Despite the noise and the constant stream of people, the DeLainey’s; and specifically, the main side characters being a girl Sam’s age named Moxie and her father are the kindest and most charitable people. Their family life might be chaotic, but the busy scenes were so full of hilarious banter and just – love, that made me smile a whole lot. The attention to detail in the writing of these scenes was just plain impressive. Each side character has its own story and is brought to life seamlessly.
While some may have seen the general plot line or event timeline as disorganised, I thought it was perfect because it was quite literally an abstract plot for a character that hasn’t had a simple moment of stability and continuity in his life (rip I know). While Sam and Avery definitely made this story quite dark, painful and hard-hitting, this story was definitely one that also makes you smile, laugh and brings you joy and hope through the gorgeous DeLainey family (YES good people still exist in this world). I personally also loved that the romance in this book wasn’t at the forefront of the story because, unfortunately, love doesn’t cure all – especially not poverty or homelessness or violent past traumas/anxieties.
Overall this story had so much impact and made me very emotional. It made me laugh and cry and although I still prefer A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews, this book was beautiful and perfect, and I really hope I get to read and meet these characters. Highly recommended it to anyone looking to get their heart broken a little.
The Boy Who Steals Houses is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Can two broken boys find their perfect home?
Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing – each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.
But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.
