- Chapter Books
- Ages 9–13
- Contemporary
October, October
A Carnegie Medal-winning novel about a wild, nature-rooted girl forced to move from the woods to London after her father is injured. Beautiful, intense and ideal for thoughtful readers who like lyrical realism and emotional transformation.
- Best for9–13
- FormatChapter
- Length304 pp
- Read aloud~9 hr5 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Literary
- Lyrical
Tone
- Bittersweet
- Warm
- Melancholic
- Thought provoking
- Heartwarming
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
October lives in the woods with her father, close to trees, mud, animals, weather and the wild rhythms of their life together. She does not want school, city streets or the mother who left. When her father is badly hurt, October is forced into a new life in London and has to face everything she has been resisting: change, anger, family complexity and the possibility that wildness can survive in different forms. Katya Balen's prose is vivid and sensory, giving October a fierce, unforgettable voice. Angela Harding's illustrations add a strong nature-art identity, though this is primarily a prose novel. October, October is a major literary middle-grade recommendation: award-winning, emotionally rich, nature-filled and especially strong for confident readers ready for challenging family feelings.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 9–13
- Read aloud · 9–13
- Independent · 9–13
Prose load
Heavy
Visual support
Low
Reluctant-reader friendly
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Gift-buying
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: absent parent, illness or disability.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
2 / 5 · Use judgement
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Nature connection
- Carnegie winner
- Family change
- Wild child
- Literary middle grade
Avoid if
- Sensitive to parent injury
- Wants light adventure
- Under 9
- Prefers low emotional intensity
Particularly good for children who are…
- Illness in family
- Moving house
- Single parent family
- Anger management
- Parents separating or divorcing
- Hospital stay
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Katya Balen's lyrical novel about a girl torn between wild woods and city life — a rich class read and discussion text with gorgeous language about family and belonging.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the move — October fierce and feral and free in the woods with her dad, the dad badly hurt, having to leave the forest for London and the mother who left and the school she's been resisting. The Katya Balen debut for a confident reader ready for fierce wild voice and complicated family feelings.
- Adventure and freedom
- Animal companions
- Cosy safety
- Family belonging
- Surviving danger
Why parents love it
The Carnegie-winning Katya Balen debut — sensory prose, ferocious child voice, Angela Harding's nature-art identity, family complexity and grief handled with literary weight. Major middle-grade recommendation for readers ready for challenging material.
- Great writing
- Conversation starter
- Beautiful illustrations
- Educational for adult too
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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