Like A Brother: school librarian Q&A with Nathanael Lessore

April 26th 2026

With our co-hosts Hot Key Books, we were delighted to welcome secondary school librarians and public libary staff to the Love Literacy author spotlight with Nathanael Lessore in April. The event included a Q&A led by Head of Libraries Alison Tarrant as well as readings from the award-winning author.

As a follow-up to our event, we welcome Nathanael onto the blog for an online school librarian Q&A to talk more about his latest title, Like a brother. He shares insight into the big themes and heartfelt characters that his book centres on, as well as offers advice for librarians and teachers on how to have frank, important conversations with teen students.

Q: What inspired you to write Like a brother?

Nathanael: When my editor asks for ideas for my next book, I give her a list of things that happened to me as a young person or teenager. She then chooses her favourite. In this case, I told her about my parents taking in my teenage cousin, and because we were similar ages, he’d be forced on me to hang out with.

Once we have the event, or the overall plot, we then have a longer discussion about themes and character dynamics to explore.

Q: Is the main character Owais’ sense of humour yours, or someone else's?

Nathanael: It’s all mine, in it’s disgusting entirety. I use jokes as a tool to annoy and frustrate, rather than a way to evoke humour and joy. The worse a pun is, the more likely I am to make it. If I can silence a room with a terrible joke, that to me is worth more than a thousand laughters.

Lara and Savio’s humours are variations of other people.

Q: Who is your favourite character in Like a brother?

Nathanael: Owais' little sister, Lara. Lara is just so supportive, and quietly bright, and wonderfully odd. I could just spend the day with her laughing.

Or, Owais' cousin, Abass (Abs). Especially later on in the book, after the pillow incident and the awkward Serge dinner, when he cracks jokes and makes his weird observations such as: “Papa New Guinea? Where’s Papa Old Guinea? How can your whole country be a sequel?”

Q: What advice do you have for librarians and teachers, to avoid pigeonholing anyone when providing role models for teens?

Nathanael: Have frank conversations! Teens can take it. They welcome honesty from adults, as it makes them feel older and more mature.

I went to a school where across three year groups, there was only a single black student. The teachers had him in every photo on social media, with all the different year groups, and the poor kid was almost rolling his eyes by the last photo. I’m not anyone to comment on whether it should or shouldn’t have happened, but I am quite sure that a conversation with the student would have gone a long way.

Be direct, but ask permission. “How would you feel if…?”, rather than “We would like you to…” . For example, “How would you feel if we took several pictures with different year groups as an attempt to show diversity?” 

Q: What would you say to someone who says the themes in this book - toxic masculinity and prejudice - are too big or serious for children and teens?

Nathanael: They’re not.

Homophobia exists. Historically, we’ve always taught kids not be racist or sexist (although in today’s climate you wouldn’t assume this is the norm), so why not teach them not to be homophobic too?

Even from a religious point, which is the only potential trigger I could think of, the themes in Like a brother are a doorway to discussion and education between parents and their kids.

Q: Do you have a message for school librarians as they carry on their day-to-day work?

Nathanael: Yours is one of the most important jobs in the country. If you were paid what you’re owed, you’d all be overnight millionaires.

Sadly, your jobs are going to get harder, in the next few years, but they’ll also be ever more important.

Every person you help is a potential life changed for the best, and that life will have a knock-on effect on someone else. You’re spreading beauty and kindness.

Please don’t give up. And thank you.

Like a brother Owais lives a chill life. He's well-liked, funny and everything's a breeze - until his estranged cousin shows up.  Loud, unpredictable and one bad decision away from serious trouble, Abass crashes into Owais' laidback world like a hurricane: picking fights, ruining parties, disappearing without explanation and clogging toilets in places he absolutely shouldn't. But as the boys get to know each other and their bond deepens, Owais starts to see there's more to Abass than the chaos - and more to himself than just being the popular guy who coasts through life. Because sometimes, the person who turns your world upside down is also the person who helps you figure out where you're really meant to be... VIEW LIKE A BROTHER

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