Doug MacLeod's new novel is a humdinger. Like The Diary of Adrian Mole, which it resembles, this epistolary novel uses wit and the viewpoint of troubled innocence to comment on unsavoury adult behaviour and the travails of growing up. Dominic Dear, a problem child according to his mother Odette (yes, O Dear), is 12 years old, overweight, has just scored poorly in an IQ test, become a Buddhist, suspects he may be gay, and is regarded with suspicion by his neighbour Dotty Ball, mother of his best friend Christopher (Crystal) Ball. Mr and Mrs Dear married young, on the rebound, and now hate each other. Fortunately, Dom's sister Dale loves him even though she is a junior witch and a bit of a problem child herself. Dom relates all this and more in emails to Uncle Peri Little, his mother's estranged brother, who acts as a sounding board and mentor as Dom negotiates some tricky emotions. The reasons for the estrangement provide the mystery element in this 'unputdownable' book. MacLeod is clever with names and nicknames that become part of a more general theme of labelling. The poet we know and love is here in word games, snappy lines and an essential goodwill towards complicated people. Highly recommended.

Kerry White is a bibliographer.

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