"The boy's an absolute menace. He's a bully. A lost cause!"
"Why can't he be more like his sister?"
I've been getting into trouble for as long I can remember. Usually I don't mind 'cos some of my best, most brilliant ideas have come from sitting in detention.
But recently it feels like no one believes me about anything - even when I'm telling the truth! And it's only gotten worse since I played a prank on the old man who lives in the park.
Everyone thinks I'm just a bully. They don't believe I could be a hero.
But I'm going to prove them all wrong...
The Night Bus Hero is Onjali Raúf's latest offering after the success of her other children's novels, The Boy at the Back of Class and The Star Outside My Window, and this has the same strong messages delivered in her unique style. The Night Bus Hero revolves around Hector - quite the anti-hero to begin, he is a bully who loves to wind others up and is constantly getting into trouble at school. Hector thrives off others' misery and after a particularly mean attack on Thomas, a homeless man who lives in his local park, he is feeling rather pleased with himself. However, after a late-night trip to London where Hector witnesses a serial thief stealing yet another famous treasure, he soon realises that he may need the help of the homeless community after all.
I really loved that Raúf chose a bully for her central character in The Night Bus Hero. It's certainly not the conventional "hero" story but nonetheless it works and I loved the character arc that we then see Hector take as he tries to figure out how to be "good". Hector is completely unlikeable in the first half of the novel, even as he is trying to correct his mistakes he still can't seem to do it in an honest way which makes the characterisation even more realistic. Let's face it, nobody goes from bad to good overnight, and the challenges in acceptance that Hector faces are realistic and emphasise just how quickly opinions are formed base on someone's behaviour.
But The Night Bus Hero deals with more than just the transformation of bully to hero, it is filled with important messages about the homeless community, the judgement they receive and their place within communities. Hector's first encounter with the homeless is everything you would expect from a heartless bully - when he steals homeless Thomas' trolley from the local park and ends up ditching at the bottom of the lake. Although his friends think he's hilarious and has shown the homeless who's boss, he soon becomes fearful of the judgment and consequences he might face if others find out. Once he realises that the homeless community might be the key behind the theft he witnessed, Hector soon finds himself embroiled in trying to solve the mystery and gain actual heroic status. His friendship with Mei-Li at school allows him to break down the misconceptions he has of the homeless community, and as he begins volunteering at the local homeless shelter he soon realises that the faceless people he sees actually have very vibrant lives.
The Night Bus Hero isn't a complex plot, but it is a complex story, of friendship, understanding and most importantly acceptance. Raúf doesn't stray away from huge topics in her writing and this is yet another novel which will expose children to communities they may not yet understand.
An important read of unexpected friendships, community and discovering yourself.
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