This is a story in a story, in a book of stories. Welcome to meta-ness :)

The story opens with the 12 months meeting up. And October is this meeting’s chair, hence the title. The months talk a little among themselves, and then begin what seems to be their tradition of telling each other stories. Only they’ve already heard what September begins to tell them, and then it is June’s turn. But then comes the main story, October’s one. A story about a boy, the youngest, the Runt, in the family, and his older brothers who bully him. So he decides to run away, maybe as far as the sea. But along the way he rests near an abandoned house, and that night he meets another boy. A boy called Dearly, a boy who can’t read his other name any more.

Read more about October in the chair (Fragile things group read, week 1) …