Change the Locks

“I don’t know where we came from. Several times when it had seemed important to know, I had tried asking, but mum never really answered.”  Eleven year old Steven is curious about his past. When he hears a stranger’s name, odd memories come back to him. A large house. Being left on the side of the road. But does he really want to remember everything?

Remembering can be risky in Change the Locks, an unforgettable junior fiction novel by multi-award-winning Australian author Simon French. This novel deals with family issues, belonging and acceptance. In 1992 it was an Honour Book at the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Awards and winner of the Australian Family Therapists’ Award for Children’s Literature. If you enjoyed this book, read Simon’s other stories: Cannily, Cannily and Other Brother.

“Change the Locks is a book of rare insight and great emotion with sensitively drawn characters and a readable and varied literary style.” Reading Time magazine

“Compelling and thoughtful … French handles issues of honesty, fear and family responsibility with skill and compassion.” The Horn Book Magazine

“A tightly wrought novel of a protective youngster trying to keep his family functional … This has plenty to entice readers: a tautly written story, good characterisation...” School Library Journal

“French's tender treatment of Steven, and the careful exploration of Steven's relationships with his best friend, Patrick, his mum, Darryl and his adored baby brother makes this book deeply moving. The love (and dysfunction) are so real they resonate long after you finish reading.” The Courier Mail