Underbed

Underbed Synopsis

"The countless reflections of my bloody face stared back at me from the smashed mirror. Each of them looked shocked, even horrified, and then my vision blurred as blood mixed with the tears welling up in my eyes. I collapsed on the floor, wondering whether I would pass out. As I lay there, slumped against the wall in the boys' toilets, I tried to stifle my sobs. I felt ashamed to be crying; this wasn't part of the plan."

Oscar has a troubled childhood. But so many kids do these days, or so he tells himself as he suffers through daily neglect by his mother. Attempting to remove himself from it, he sleeps under his bed and wakes in a strange classroom with other children who share his pain - and worse. Together they talk it through in the hope that one day, things will get better.

Aimed at 10-12 year olds who might be suffering through similar situations, Underbed deals with the painful subject with both honesty and hope, with the first person point of view allowing the story to be easily accessible to its targeted reader.