Winner of for the 2009 Branford Boase Best Debut Novel Award
An extraordinary fantasy novel from a supremely talented debut novelist. Set partly in a boys’ school and also in another world that is both fierce and dangerous, it has themes of cowardice, loyalty and bravery and will provide much food for thought for the reader. What really makes this book so sensational is that each world, both real and fantasy, is just as gripping as the other. The two-fold narrative with alternate chapters is incredibly complex to construct, yet the talent of this writer has made it look so easy and has created a fluid, completely unputdownable read.
What the judges' said:
This is the 10th year of the award, which recognises new children's authors and the role of the editor in a book's creation. The Traitor Game, published by Bloomsbury, is an ambitious teenage novel about the problematic relationship between two school boys, interwoven with an elaborate fantasy world they have created, called Evguard.
From the author:
'I'm interested in the way fantasy is a metaphor for a state of mind. In The Traitor Game, the boys reinvent reality in order to escape from their everyday world. Both boys are affected by bullying. I have never experienced bullying but I wanted to tackle it because I am interested in exploring issues of emotional damage. The further you move from your own experience, the more you can explore issues truthfully.'
To see the author's new novel A Trick of the Dark click here.
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