"Life never runs in a dead straight line, as revealed in this YA masterwork that sees a teenager navigate the devastating aftermath of a single mistake."
April 2026 Book of the Month
Exploring risk, trust, guilt, forgiveness, intergenerational bonds, bravery, and why some people consider consequences while others don’t, Malcolm Duffy’s Dead Straight Line is an authentically-voiced, multi-layered treasure that’ll engage hard-to-please teenagers, and spark valuable discussion in classroom contexts.
“I don’t have trouble finding trouble. It finds me. I used to go looking for it. Not anymore. I’ve got more trouble now than I know what to do with”. Sixteen-year-old Rory is the thrill- seeking, rule-breaking leader of his gang of friends: “In a world of boring, I want breath- taking, bum clenching. I want to get into my discomfort zone”.
Playing Dead Straight Line is just one of the things Rory and his mates do for thrills. The game involves getting home in a dead straight line, never veering from the line, no matter where it leads. One night, the game goes horribly wrong when Rory pressures new recruit Yell into playing for the first time, with lifechanging consequences for both boys.
From a thirst for thrills, through the struggles of righting wrongs, navigating lies and betrayal, and forming beautiful new bonds (truly, Rory’s relationship with eighty-year-old Geordie Falklands veteran, Tanker, is a joy), Rory’s journey is utterly gripping and true-to-life as Dead Straight Line explores how there’s always a way to get back on track, no matter how winding a course that track might take.
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Two unlikely worlds collide as prize-winning Malcolm Duffy explores the life-changing repercussions of a single action in a game gone wrong.
Sixteen-year-old Rory is a rule-breaker, a risk taker, a maverick. As a kick he comes up with a game called Dead Straight Line. The idea is simple - wherever you happen to be, you've got to get home in a dead straight line. Across the back gardens of stranger's houses, locked parks, trespassing on private property - whatever it takes.
One day, Rory pressures his friend Eliot into playing, resulting in a serious accident. Shunned by friends and facing pressure from his furious parents, Rory becomes even more angry and disruptive. When his school suggests helping out a care home, he's unimpressed. But paired up with Tanker, an eighty-year-old Geordie military veteran, who fought in the Falklands War, things slowly begin to change.
From seeking thrills to finding friends, choosing the right path in life is never a dead straight line. But there is always a way.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Dead Straight Line and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Dead Straight Line features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Featured Books for Young Adults, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Stories about Family and Friends, Gritty Reads, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Dead Straight Line is available in Paperback
Dead Straight Line was written by Malcolm Duffy and published by Zephyr an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)
Dead Straight Line has 309 pages
£8.09
