A Place of His Own

Nearly eight years after Jonah was found alone at a caravan park, everyone wants to know where he belongs.

Jonah is nearly seventeen now. He is safe, older, and no longer the silent boy from the news. But when his living situation becomes uncertain, adults begin making plans around him again.

Max Walsh is twelve, starting Year 7 at Rivergum High, and discovering that kindness can become complicated when other people are watching. Tom Walsh is in his early twenties, back home from university and drifting through the uncomfortable space between childhood and adulthood. Bee and Ben Walsh are still trying to do the right thing, even when the right thing is no longer obvious.

As the Walsh family is drawn back into Jonah’s life, they must confront a harder truth: caring about someone does not give you the right to decide their future for them.

A Place of His Own is a grounded contemporary Australian young adult novel about family, disability, communication, guilt, growing up, and the difference between helping and taking over.

Quiet, emotional, and realistic, this sequel to Free to a Good Home continues Jonah’s story with compassion and restraint. It is not a rescue story. It is a story about listening, belonging, and what it really means to have a place of your own.