The Lion Above The Door

Leo and his best friend Sangeeta are the only ones that look different to everyone else in their school. On the day this book starts Leo and Sangeeta are on a school trip to Rochester Cathedral and the RAF Museum.  When they are on a tour inside the cathedral with an old man called Mr Young, Leo is shocked to see a World War II memorial above a door with his name on it - Leo Hai Lim. Leo now knows that his mission is to find out more about him and why he received the Distinguished Flying Cross; one of the rarest medals an RAF pilot can get. With his new found determination, Leo suggests Forgotten Heroes as the theme for his class project on WWII. The project takes on even more significance when the class learn it will be put forward for a national Remembrance Day competition with the winning prize being a TV appearance.

For his mission to discover more about Leo Hai Lim, Leo is helped by some of his friends.  Sangeeta’s role is to track down information on the part played by Indian soldiers in the war but she is thrilled when she discovers more about the role played by women in the war too. He’s also helped, to his surprise, by Olivia Morris, who is known by everyone as the coolest kid in their school but why would she help him?

However, Leo’s efforts to find out more information also get him into trouble with his parents (when he calls his Aunty Su in Singapore at midnight) and with his school (when he tries to break into the RAF Museum at Rochester Cathedral). Despite this, Leo’s determination to find out about the ‘Real Leo’ continues, even when a bully sabotages his work! Leo eventually discovers that a lot more people in his class are on his side and want to help him than he originally thought.

Do they win the competition?

Can they fix the sabotaged work before the competition ends?

You must read the book to find out!

We give this book 5***** and recommend it to 9+ readers. We love Onjali Q. Raúf’s books especially as she writes books about being different and problems that young people face in society today.