Malorie Blackman Books

This is a brilliant, gritty novel from Malorie Blackman aimed at older children or younger teens.

The dual narrative follows the stories of Gemma and Mike, who are both struggling to deal with past trauma and difficult family dynamics. Mike, the new boy at school is (on the surface) sociable, popular and seems to have it all, whereas Gemma feels unnoticed and invisible to her family and her peers. Their worlds collide when Gemma realises she has seen Mike in a newspaper clipping and endeavours to find out more about his past – especially why he has told everyone his mum has died when Gemma knows this not to be true.

A brilliant, compelling tale exposes themes that some children will be familiar with, others less so. The story explores themes of friendship, bullying, trauma, parents in prison, death, separation, mental health, domestic abuse and family relationships. As often, Malorie Blackman weaves a tale with a moral message and shows her readers how mistakes can be rectified through honesty and a good support network.