Author(s): David Almond

YA Fiction

Bobby lives in Keely Bay playing on the coaly sands and in the pines with friends known all his life. But things are changing. He has passed the eleven-plus and must leave his friends to go to the Catholic School which proves to be a harsh and cruel experience. Befriended by Daniel, son of a university couple, newcomers to the area, Bobby is encouraged in a campaign against a sadistic teacher. Bobby never mentions his school terrors at home as he is worried about his father's illness, worried that he may die. There is also he growing fear of the threat of nuclear war as this is the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Vital to the novel is the presence and symbolic power of McNulty, a fire-eating showman, who captures Bobby's imagination. On the night the world might end, they all gather around a bonfire on the beach - Bobby, his parents, old friends and new friends and McNulty. It is the most emotionally charged climax I have ever read. For young adults.