Longlisted for the UKLA Book Award 2022 ages 11-14
This is a gritty yet touching story of one teenager's struggles with bullying and isolation, written by Carnegie Medal Winning author Anthony McGowan, and is perfect for less-confident readers.
When his mum is sent back to prison, Al knows exactly who's to blame. Mr Brayker, who lives downstairs, has been making trouble for Al's mum ever since they moved in, and Al's determined to get his revenge. Ignoring advice from his gran and sister, Plum, Al takes things into his own hands with a plan that involves the only two creatures he can rely on: his pet rats, Venom and Vulture. But things don't turn out exactly as he'd imagined ... Written by award-winning author, Patrice Lawrence, this is a moving story of community, loneliness, and how you never quite know what's going on in someone else's life.
The Carnegie medal winner McGowan is superb at stories about children who do not have all the advantages. In this succinct and poignant rite-of-passage story he gets inside the head of Matthew, a school outcast whose mother is not always up to the job of mothering. It carries you irresistably with him from first to last. - The Sunday Times
Author
About Anthony McGowan
Anthony McGowan is the author of many critically acclaimed YA novels including Hellbent, Henry Tumour and The Knife that Killed Me. His Barrington Stoke titles include the Carnegie Medal shortlisted Rook and the 2020 Carnegie Medal winner Lark, which the judges described as “a standalone masterpiece”.
