Teacher's Dead Synopsis

For young people dealing with ideas in a post-truth world, Benjamin Zephaniah's story of violence, truth and the media is as powerful and pertinent as when it was first published.

A teacher is dead, murdered by two of his students in front of the whole school. Right in front of Jackson Jones. But Mr Joseph was a good man - people liked him, respected him. How could those boys stab him and jog away like nothing had happened? Unable to process what he has seen, Jackson begins his own investigation: everyone knows who did it, but as Jackson uncovers more about the boys, he becomes convinced that people need to understand why.

Brilliantly written and with a real ear for dialogue, fans of Angie Thomas and Malorie Blackman will love Benjamin Zephaniah's novels for young adult readers:

Refugee Boy

Face

Gangsta Rap

Teacher's Dead

Teacher's Dead Press Reviews

Praise for Teacher's Dead;

Benjamin Zephaniah rides straight through everybody's taboos, everybody's prejudices, everybody's niceties and gets straight to the heart of the matter ... Strong, honest, democratic, accessible to all, Teacher's Dead comes highly recommended The Bookbag's Jill Murphy 

Praise for Face;

A brilliant first novel Guardian

A lively and positive account of a boy who is badly scarred in a joyriding crash, and how he comes to terms with it ... incredibly well told  Irish Times

An impressive debut, carefully researched ... Zephaniah writes wonderfully natural dialogue with the same ease as he spins out rhyming couplets  Herald 

Praise for Refugee Boy;

The playful, obstinate and courageously humorous tone of Zephaniah's writing shines through ... hilarious and later heartbreaking  Alfred Hickling, Guardian

Sweet, funny, highly inventive  Yorkshire Post

Humour and innocence are both to the fore as is a sweetness of tone ... more street than poetic, and personal yet universal, Refugee Boy is well told by impassioned writer   York Press

Praise for Gangsta Rap;

The authority with which the story is written leaves the reader no choice but to be drawn in - and indeed educated - into the world of gangsta rap, with all the appropriate vocabulary. Not for a long time have I read a book with such a 'pick me up again factor  Independent on Sunday

A fairytale of hip-hop success ... teens will enjoy the thrilling music fantasy, while many will identify with the smart, talented boys who grow up quickly and rescue themselves  Booklist

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All versions of this book

ISBN: 9781408895016
Publication date: 11/01/2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9780747586098
Publication date: 03/09/2007
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Format: Paperback

Book Information

About Benjamin Zephaniah

Poet, novelist and playwright Benjamin Zephaniah was born on 15 April 1958. He grew up in Jamaica and the Handsworth district of Birmingham, England, leaving school at 14. He moved to London in 1979 and published his first poetry collection, Pen Rhythm, in 1980. Benjamin Zephaniah is an internationally renowned performance poet and acclaimed author of bestselling YA novels: FACE, GANGSTA RAP, TEACHER’S DEAD, REFUGEE BOY and TERROR KID. He has been Writer in Residence at the Africa Arts Collective in Liverpool and Creative Artist in Residence at Cambridge University, and was a candidate for the post of Professor of Poetry at ...

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