"In a nutshell: beautifully written story of life, love and growing up"
December 2017 Book of the Month
Full of love, humour and heartbreak, this beautifully crafted YA novella from the multi award-winning author of Ketchup Clouds and My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is a compassionate and distinctive tale of modern family life and its issues.
Archie is devastated at the news his parents are splitting up. He and his dad are very close and when he realises that his father is leaving for another man – something his two sisters have already worked out – the shock has a physical impact. Archie has already been the victim of bullying and, perhaps to avoid a repeat, has become friends with the bullies at his new school; he is terrified of their reaction to the news. Things are complicated further when Tia, the girl he fancies, confides in him about her brother’s suicide and as the pressure mounts, Archie himself contemplates taking his own life. Annabel Pitcher portrays Archie with real insight and readers will understand completely the agony he feels. She chooses to end the story in a supermarket where the aisles, through their very prosaic normality, open up a world of hope and new beginnings. Published by dyslexia specialists Barrington Stoke, this will be accessible to all readers and is worth recommending to all readers.
NOTE: some of the content and language may be seen by some as inappropriate for younger teens - why not read the extract first to find out.
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