"Social and environmental inequality, survival, ableism, and coming to a state of empathy — this rich novella tackles a range of vital themes in gripping style."
Interest Age 9+ 11+ Reading Age 8
Tingling with high-stakes danger during a typhoon in Manila, and revealing the disproportionate impact of global warming on developing nations, Steve Cole’s Drowning in My Bedroom sees two youngsters come to a state of empathy and understanding after first impressions lead them to make flash judgements.
Junjun and Gayla were born into very different lives in Manila. Junjun is a beggar who lives in a shack, while more affluent Gayla has “mixed cerebral palsy. It means my muscles don’t fully understand what my brain’s trying to tell them.”
When the pair first encounter each other, they come to the same conclusion: “I’m glad I’m not you”, but everything changes when a storm escalates to a typhoon. As Gayla remarks: “It used to be just the lowlying parts of Manila that got flooded, but now nowhere feels safe. Global warming is raising the temperature of the Pacific Ocean, and that means we get more powerful storms with heavier rain”.
During a flash flood, Junjun’s shack is destroyed and he can’t find his family. At the same time, Gayla finds herself trapped alone in a residential centre for kids with disabilities. When they re-meet and work together in order to survive, they discover they have more in common than either had imagined: “Me and Junjun are both left out of things because of situations we were born into. And for both of us, that sucks”, Gayla remarks, while Junjun realises, “those tiny things we do can make big differences”.
Written in a thrilling, lucid style that’ll engage a huge range of readers, Drowning in My Bedroom is sure to spark deeper awareness of ableism, and deeper thought on the disproportionate impact climate change has on marginalised groups. Both characters are incredibly compelling, and their stories are sure to have big impact.
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The terrifying impact of global warming on vulnerable lives is laid bare in this gripping tale of survival from internationally bestselling author Steve Cole.
Gayla is trapped when floodwater pours into her bedroom in a residential centre for kids with disabilities. The other children have been evacuated while Gayla waited for her father, but now the streets around are cut off and she’s all alone with no way out.
Junjun’s makeshift shack has been washed away in the flood and he needs to find medicine for his sister, who’s sick after drinking contaminated water. At first these two young people seem to have little in common and pity each other, but as the waters continue to rise, can they find a way to work together to survive …?
A note from the author Steve Cole: “While climate change is a problem that affects us all, there are disproportionate impacts on marginalised groups. As an able person in a more affluent society, I know I can never grasp fully the experience of someone with disabilities or who was raised on the streets. This story is offered as an act of imaginative empathy inspired by real events. It’s not about celebrating the protagonists as inspirational for surviving the personal tragedy of their circumstances; my hope is that young people will recognise the underlying realities of how ableism, inequality and poor infrastructure place the most vulnerable in society at the frontline of disaster.”
A note from the editor Alisa Bathgate: “In this powerful and gripping novella, Steve lays bare the disproportionate impact that global warming has in developing nations such as the Philippines. He has also taken this opportunity, with the help of children and adults with disabilities, and authenticity readers, to explore the implications for particularly vulnerable communities, featuring a main character with cerebral palsy and a young boy living in poverty on the streets, who work together to survive in what is an incredibly impactful and thought-provoking story.”
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Drowning in My Bedroom and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-10 years old
Drowning in My Bedroom features in the following genres: Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Dyslexia Friendly Books for Interest age 11+, Recommendations, Dyslexia Friendly Books for Interest age 9+, Ecological and Environmental Interest - Fiction, Featured Books for 9+ readers
Drowning in My Bedroom is available in Paperback
Drowning in My Bedroom was written by Steve Cole and published by Barrington Stoke Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Drowning in My Bedroom has 123 pages
£7.19
