Georgie – Malachy Doyle

Published By: Firefly Press
Pages: 128
Released On: 15/09/2026
Reading Age: 10+

14-year-old Georgie hasn’t spoken in years. Withdrawn, isolated and full of rage, no one trusts him and no one gets close to him. 

But then he is moved to a new home in the Welsh countryside. Instead of an empty room with a bare mattress on the floor, he has a proper bed, a music system, a mirror. There even seems to be someone here who might want to be his friend. 

Is this the place where Georgie can finally overcome his fears and start to unlock the secrets of his past? 

*****

Thanks to NetGalley and Firefly Press for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I believe this first came out 25 years ago but I hadn’t heard of it, but it really appealed to me – even if I am more than three times the reading age.

This was a hard book to read. It’s honest and raw and brutal, violent and harsh; I’m not sure I’ve read the likes of it.

Amazon says it’s for audiences 10+. Now, I don’t believe in shielding children from every hard thing in life because…well, that’s life. But I also think there’s a line. And whilst I think it’s important for kids to know about the care system and other children who aren’t what society thinks of as “normal”, I would see 10 is perhaps a bit too young. But obviously I do understand it depends on the maturity of the ten year old.

Malachy worked with children with additional needs prior to becoming a writer and that much is obvious. My mother taught children with disabilities and additional needs and so I integrated with these children from the age of about 6, and so it was always “normal” for me. But I know it can be difficult for people who are apart from that world. And I think Malachy has got that just right. It might seem a bit over the top at times with the behaviour explored, but actually it’s quite close to the truth for some children. He’s not hidden from the bad parts but he’s done it with such empathy that you really care for these characters.

It’s an interesting idea to have a protagonist who is non verbal. So much of novels, obviously, depend on speech and verbal storytelling, and so to hold a book – albeit a short book – from the POV of someone who couldn’t offer the reader what they would expect was brave but wonderfully managed.

Georgie is meant to be 14 but for some reason I read him as a child, maybe about 10. Even though he’s clearly a physical presence and he’s spent several years in this situation, and the fact that I knew he was 14, I still saw him as this young child.

Overall it was very heartwarming. It’s a bit twee at times and a bit simple, but I really enjoyed it. It’s uplifting and joyful, but honest and raw, and it’s short so it’s a very quick read.