'Crucial, lifesaving, overstretched, in crisis'

Care is the dominant theme running through My Name is Leon. As Leon moves from place to place, and foster family to foster family, he experiences many different forms of care. His mother, Carol, loves him, but she is unable to care for him due to her mental health challenges. Her decision to keep Leon in the care system rather than take him back in, late in the novel, is itself an expression of love and care as she acknowledges her incapacityNot having the capability or resources to do something. to give him what he needs to thrive in life. Leon benefits from loving carers, such as Maureen and Sylvia, but the constant moves from one carer to the next can be deeply destabilising. He also experiences a confusing mixture of caring social workers, like "Zebra", and others who harshly refuse to answer his questions about his baby brother, who has been separated from him. Kit de Waal also suggests a complex relationship between "carer" and "cared for". Leon is in receipt of care, but he also acts as an informal carer for his family when his mother falls ill, and Maureen, one of his later carers, herself becomes in need of care when she falls seriously ill. Kit de Waal thus presents the care system and relationships of care as complex and confusing, most of all for those forced to navigate them. She suggests that all human beings both provide and rely on care. 

Will the NHS reach 100? When Britain's health service was founded 75 years ago, it promised free care "from the cradle to the grave". But some think the NHS is now battling a sickness of its own.

Should politics stay out of medicine? In a damning 388-page report, paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass argues that gender services are "letting down" young people and failing to meet the standards of other NHS care.

Is wellness a modern curse? It is a movement that has taken social media by storm, promising that anyone can look as flawlessly healthy and happy as celebrities on the red carpet. But many think it casts a long, dark shadow.

Leon combines the natural childishness of an eight year old with the maturity that is imposed on those who take on caring responsibilities. On the one hand, despite being just eight years old, he cares for his baby brother, Jake, when his mother falls ill, and shows substantial independence throughout the novel. He also shows striking maturity by calling an ambulance when one of his foster parents, Maureen, falls ill - an act that saves her life. A social worker thus says to Leon that "a lot of people think you're older than you are". On the other hand, he uses childish nicknames to label the people in his life, such as "Zebra" to refer to his social worker, Judy, and he is told off for using bad language at school. This shows that Leon's difficult experience with the care system has not entirely robbed him of his youth. Kit de Waal represents the theme of maturity by reference to Leon's interest in planting seeds, which symbolises the relationship between growth, nurture and care. 

Is he the new Messi? Spain's prodigy player Lamine Yamal has already made history at Euro 2024, and is hoping to score a decisive goal in the match against England on Sunday.

Could lessons in risk help? Every year - particularly in hot weather - teenagers drown in Britain's waterways. Experts say that the time has come to take urgent action.

Is 16 too young? One of Russell Brand's accusers has called for a change in the law to protect teenagers from sexual predators. But some believe there are too many complications.  

Leon is forced to grow increasingly conscious of his race over the course of the novel. Initially, he does not understand why he, unlike his brother, has not been adopted. This is a source of insecurity and confusion. Over time, he comes to understand - and resent - that Jake was adopted because he is White and therefore "desirable", whereas Leon is mixed race. He also grows increasingly conscious of race as a result of his wider social context. The novel is set against the backdrops of riots that broke out in communities of colour in places like BrixtonAn area in south London. and Liverpool in 1981, in response to police violence and economic deprivation. Leon shows an instinctive and growing desire to join the riots, especially as he learns more about his Black father and his activism. Finally, Leon learns about race through his relationship with Tufty, a Jamaican immigrant, who fulfils a parental role in helping Leon to see why he is perceived by society as "different". Kit de Waal thus demonstrates that as children of colour grow up, they are forced to come to terms with confusing racial dynamics, even if they lack formal parental figures to help guide them through this process. 

Can football stop the hate? A talented young player touched the world's heart after he broke down in tears at a press conference, following years of racist abuse.

New report: 'Transgender children let down'

Will Britain ever be completely just? The biggest study of racism and inequality in the UK for more than a quarter of a century has produced some shocking statistics. 

Are we too obsessed with identity? As British society changes, some say the old labels just do not work any more. But others warn we should not lose sight of who we are.

My Name is Leon speaks to the importance of family as a source of belonging, especially in an unwelcoming society, but also makes clear that "family" can take many different forms. On the one hand, Leon craves to end his enforced separation from Jake. This is his driving mission in the novel, which shows the strength of their family bond. But despite his failure to find Jake and to move back in with his mum, Leon ends the novel with a supportive makeshift "family" in their place. Maureen, his caring foster parent, ultimately adopts him, and Tufty and Mr Devlin, his community on the allotment, also play important parental roles. Mr Devlin, for example, shows him how to plant seeds. Leon fails to reconstruct his "regular" family, which was ripped apart, but Kit de Waal is clear that he is no worse off for having a loving, supportive makeshift family in its place. This is a hopeful message about the potential for care-experienced children to survive and thrive despite their challenging familial backgrounds. 

Have we got it all wrong? A Western mother who took her baby to live in the Ecuadorian jungle found her ideas about how to be a parent turned upside down by local people.

Is fraternal bad blood the key to history? Harry's new book sheds light on his turbulent relationship with Prince William. Experts say our past was shaped by brotherly rivalry.

Is revenge always wrong? A new film explores an Australian dad's secret life as a Nazi hunter. He lost his family in the Holocaust.

Although the central message from this novel is one of hope
- that foster children can form loving relationships and enjoy fulfilling lives
despite their difficult start in life - Kit de Waal is deeply critical of the
social institutions that regularly let down the most marginalised people in
society. Leon's experience of the care system is highly destabilising, as he
moves from foster family to foster family, and experiences a mixture of
attentive and inattentive social workers. It is unfair, she suggests, that he
never gets clarity or closure as to the situation of his beloved brother Jake.
This reflects a wider social problem, as demonstrated by the crucial context of
rioting among communities of colour against police brutality and economic
deprivation. Kit de Waal thus shows that even though Leon ends the novel in a
broadly good place, with supportive networks around him, it is crucial not to
forget how many people are let down by a society that is supposed to support
them. Leon's ultimate happiness is as much the result of his luck in finding a
supportive community on the allotment, which offers him a sense of purpose and
makeshift family connections, but not everyone is so fortunate.

Is this terrorism? Days of riots led by far-right groups have targeted mosques and refugees. But there is little agreement on how we should describe the terrible violence.

Has the social justice movement gone too far? A flurry of new
books claim that today's activists are behaving more like religious
fanatics than true social liberals. But others bitterly disagree.

Is hope more powerful than solutions? "Renegade economist" Kate Raworth wants us to build an economy based on optimism for a healthier and happier world.