Pippin & Nacho

After reading this book, I really needed to step back and deal with all the heavy emotions it evoked and carefully sort through the kaleidoscope of feelings that remained long after the last page. The story shows one of the uglier sides of life - the difficulties, the challenges, the pain of rejection or not fitting in someone's expectations and being part of the Invisible ones. All these children who fall through the cracks of conversion therapy, foster care or know the Street as their only home, are Invisible to the so-called society in which they live; a society that has conveniently forgotten that they exist and stolen their childhood without remorse or a trace of guilt. Pippin and Nacho are the final product of a system that has utterly failed to protect and raise them with even a modicum of concern and humanity. The only lucky thing was that they found each other while being transferred like broken, unwanted toys from one home to another. This is a compelling, deeply moving story of a friendship, born in the dark times of extreme need, in a hellhole that was supposed to be a place to live. A friendship that survived living on the streets and growing up while dealing with the results of severe childhood trauma, abuse and neglect. The story presents themes such as mental health issues, ADHD and codependency with impressive care, reflection and thoughtful exploration of this sensitive subject matter. And as readers we were gifted with the chance to see all of this through the lense of one extraordinary love between two broken souls- selfless, deep and incredibly precious, because it's based on the only thing they have left and value immensely- Trust! Trust that they always will have each other's back no matter what.