"The inescapable highs and lows of starting secondary school are superbly portrayed in this excellent verse novel."
April 2025 Book of the Month
Nate is leaving the safe and colourful world of primary school and starting secondary school – alongside his best friends, Caleb and PS, he is a mix of nerves and excitement. And with new friends, old bullies and strict teachers on the horizon, there are challenges ahead, especially when someone he thought was gone forever reappears…
There is always a slight trepidation to be found when opening a highly anticipated book, and there are few books more highly anticipated than this sequel to Goodfellow’s phenomenal The Final Year. Loved by young readers, teachers and awards judges alike, expectations were high for The First Year. Happily, Goodfellow more than delivers and continues Nate’s story with his trademark clever verse style and nuanced characters. Just as The Final Year beautifully encapsulated the monumental feeling of upcoming change brought by finishing primary school, The First Year perfectly captures the excitement and anxiety of suddenly being a small fish in a big pond.
As an ex-teacher and still a regular visitor to schools, Goodfellow writes with the knowingness of someone who really understands their setting and characters. From the differences between stark, display-light secondary corridors and the bright halls of primary schools, to the fresh focus on future academic achievements that Year 7 brings – Nate’s new school is so realistically drawn that as a reader we walk through its doors beside him.
Nate continues to be a wonderful character, somebody that the reader truly empathises with and roots for. As he struggles to find his feet whilst stood on shifting sands and determines to prove he is not the “kind of kid” some of his new teachers appear to have written him off as, his defeats become our defeats and his pain ours.
The First Year sensitively portrays a section of society not often represented in children’s books, as well as being proudly and boldly northern, in it we see a family living with very little money. But poverty is not presented here as a dreadful and sad thing, for Nate it is his normal, everyday life, and that is how we as readers experience his family life. With an estimated 30% of children in the UK living in poverty, this is important representation and countless young people will undoubtedly see their daily realities reflected in Nate’s.
Once again Goodfellow demonstrates a huge talent for capturing nuanced and universal experiences, and breathing life into them.
| Suitable For: | |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
A heartfelt story exploring the power of friendships, the unbreakable bonds of the family, and finding you own way, despite the obstacles life constantly throws in one’s path.
A very touching and a poignant story about family, friends and finding you own way, despite the obstacles life constantly throws in one’s path.
The First Year follows on directly from Matt Goodfellow’s first book, beginning from the same moment we left Nate at the end of Year 6.
The first year in a secondary school is not easy and we walk beside Nate as he finds new friends, old enemies, and learns to deal with his demons.
But then his life is turned upside down, when his estranged father appears out of the blue and wants to get to know his son. Nate decides to open himself to new possibilities, but he also takes a risk that his hopes might come crashing down around him.... Read Full Review
Excellent continuation following Nate as he navigates Year 7, bullies and strict teachers, new friends, deprivation at home and a long-absent family member coming out of the woodwork. Beautifully told in verse, it will envelop readers aged 10-13.
Excellent continuation following a sympathetic family.
Adored The Final Year, snapped this sequel up. It could be read in isolation, but knowing Nate's history - his small brother's heart problem, his experiences in Year 6 with a bully and friends, an inspiring teacher, his struggling mum, his temper - is useful background.
Nate is now starting Year 7. He still tells us his story in verse, and this year, while his young brother has recovered from surgery, Nate has a lot going on. There's the new school, his old bully is there too though Nate has good friends (old AND new) with him that help him manage his temper (despite a strict and unsympathetic teacher). Mum is still going down the Bingo a lot.... Read Full Review
The First Year is a wonderful read and an amazing sequel to The Final Year. Just like the Final Year, it is written in free verse and is another fabulous book by Matt Goodyear. It is a very powerful and uplifting read and deals with many themes that can be explored further with pupils. It is a perfect read for ages 10-13.
Nate is finishing primary school and is about to start secondary school along with his two friends. It is an emotional read full of hope but also some sadness; it allows the reader to really get inside the head of an eleven /twelve-year-old and to be able to share and empathise with their thoughts and feelings. The transition to the new school is a difficult one and Nate is often misunderstood and finds some of his peers tricky to handle. When his feelings become difficult to handle, his emotions get the better of him and he refers to his emotional response and anger as The Beast. The support that Nate experienced at primary school isn’t the same at secondary school and he feels misunderstood by those around him.... Read Full Review
