When a young and attractive new drama teacher arrives at school, Beth and many of the other girls are immediately smitten by both his looks and his intense teaching style. Soon the class is deep into rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet. It is no surprise that Hannah, golden girl of the year, gets the part of Juliet. Although Beth had hoped for it too she is happy enough playing the Nurse as she is keen to be a closer friend of Hannah’s and they’ll have several scenes together. But, while Beth naively thinks that she and Hannah are becoming closer, it soon becomes clear that Hannah has quite a different and far, far more dangerous relationship in mind. A good fictional account of a shocking situation.
A Piece of Passion from Ruth Williams, Publisher Simon’s books are always very gripping and surprising. Even though it’s fairly clear early on that this book is about a teacher having an inappropriate affair with a pupil, it still comes as a shock when the affair is revealed. The narrator, Beth, is a beautifully drawn character and I liked her more and more as I got to know her. I really felt for her in the dilemma she faces. One of the things I like best about Simon’s writing is his very dry humour, which is particularly apparent in his depiction of pupil relationships, both with each other and with their teachers. It’s quite a feat, I think, that he always manages to make difficult, gritty subjects so hugely entertaining.
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16-year-old Beth is desperate to become friends with Lauren, the most popular girl in school. When the new stand-in drama teacher, Mr Carver, decides to put on a production of Romeo and Juliet, Beth finally ends up close to Lauren, as The Nurse to her Juliet. The friendship they develop is not quite what Beth had hoped, with Lauren failing to turn up to meet her and then using Beth as a convenient excuse for where she is staying that night. It's only when Beth discovers the illicit affair going on between Mr Carver and Lauren that her strange behaviour suddenly makes sense. Beth knows she must step in to stop the love affair - but the decision she makes has dire consequences for everyone involved.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Trust Games and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-14 years old
Trust Games features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Recommendations
Trust Games is available in Paperback, Ebook
Trust Games was written by Simon Packham and published by Piccadilly Press Ltd an imprint of Templar Publishing
Trust Games has 216 pages