Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

This book focuses on Harri, a recent immigrant to England from Ghana, and his attempts to both figure out how to navigate life and school in the UK and to solve the mystery of the murder of one of his peers. Harri seems hopelessly out of his league on both counts (his attempts to fit in lead to dangerous behavior like throwing stones at buses and trying to set off fire alarms, and he investigates the murder by collecting fingerprints on cellophane tape), but his optimism and his faith in God and his family place the reader firmly in his camp. I also enjoyed the pigeon element--yes, Harri speaks pidgin English, but he also becomes mildly obsessed with a pigeon, who speaks to him and narrates parts of the book. A moving account of the best and worst of a tough childhood.