Siege

Siege Synopsis

Leah Jackson - in detention. Then armed Year 9s burst in, shooting. She escapes, just. But the new Lock Down system for keeping intruders out is now locking everyone in. She takes to the ceilings and air vents with another student, Anton, and manages to use her mobile to call out to the world. First: survive the gang - the so-called 'Eternal Knights'.

Second: rescue other kids taken hostage, and one urgently needing medical help. Outside, parents gather, the army want intelligence, television cameras roll, psychologists give opinions, sociologists rationalise, doctors advise - and they all want a piece of Leah. Soon her phone battery is running out; the SAS want her to reconnoitre the hostage area ...But she is guarding a terrifying conviction.

Her brother, Connor, is at the centre of this horror. Is he with the Eternal Knights or just a pawn? She remembers. All those times Connor reached out for help ...If she'd listened, voiced her fears about him earlier, would things be different now? Should she give up her brother? With only Anton for company, surviving by wits alone, Leah wrestles with the terrible choices ...

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Leeds Book Awards 2014

9-11 Shortlist

The Battles of Ben Kingdom by Andrew Beasley

The Great Ice-cream Heist by Elen Caldecott

Ways to See a Ghost by Emily Diamand

Osbert the Avenger by Christopher William Hill

The Child's Elephant by Rachel Campbell-Johnston

Wild Boy by Rob Lloyd Jones

11-14 Shortlist

Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce

After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross

How to be Invisible by Tim Lott

The Poison Boy by Fletcher Moss

Blood Tracks by Paula Rawsthorne

Geek Girl by Holly Smale

14-16 Shortlist

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood

Hostage Three by Nick Lake

Siege by Sarah Mussi

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

The Quietness by Alison Rattle