Chickens by Julie McLaren

Tony has just been dumped and he feels his life is going nowhere fast.  His colleague suggests he becomes a mentor to a troubled teenager and so Tony embarks on this new phase of his life.  But nobody knows that Tony was in care when he was a youngster, so this is the story of how he copes with trying to be a friend to a boy who doesn't want it and how Tony works through his demons from his childhood.

This is not a particularly happy story.  Tony struggles with connecting with Jordan.  The chickens are the only lightness to his life.  The story is part told in first person and part the emails Tony sends to both his mentoring contact and his ex-girlfriend.  I liked this mix of writing.

This was an easy read, I kept thinking of Tony when I wasn't reading it.  I also thought of Tony after finishing it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LRZCWFS/?tag=jookuf-21