928 Miles From Home by Kim Slater

Cal lives with his dad whom works away constantly on jobs he's evasive about. One day walking late by the river he meets Amelia whom lives on a barge with her mum and brother. This later teaches him about friendship and family formations as his family begins to drastically change...

When Sergei slips into their school year, Lindon Cal's friend starts to pick on him racially saying things and generally being nasty to him for being in the UK making assumptions about being a benefit scrounger even though he isn't and he's legally allowed to be here.

When Cal finds out his dad is dating and moving in Sergei and his mum, his friends start to cause trouble for him as he's forced into the situation and when the community centre offers an escape into film writing despite getting broken into repeatedly, Cal takes a chance until a twist on events makes him realise Sergei might not be so bad...

All about tolerance and acceptance of others around us from anywhere in the world at all. It was dramatic and eventful and I liked the family dynamic shifting and introducing a usually solitary character to fit into a family and how he can adjust so drastically and judge his past actions and friend associations.