EXCERPT
From the moment the ground gave way beneath our feet it couldn't have taken more than a couple of seconds. But it seemed to go on forever, a nightmare in slow motion.
'Watch out. It's slippery in here.'
I followed him into the cave, the entrance just a thin slit in the rock.
Out of the wet and into the dry. Out of the warm and into the cool. Out of the light and into the dark.
That's when it happened. I heard the groan of the earth. A shout. The sound of him falling. And then it was if somebody had pulled the ground from beneath my feet and I was falling too.
I didn't scream.
Funny. I remember that quite clearly. I didn't scream as I fell.
Just found myself wondering how far it was to the bottom, and how fast I'd be going when I got there.
Then thinking: they're right. They're right, all of them.
I am a weirdo.
"Tense, psychological and instructive"
- The Times, UK
"Daniel and Tozer are vivid characters who earn the readers' affection and respect"
- Booklist, USA
"Edge-of-the-seat pacing makes this a gripping adventure; the unusual narrative structure makes it outstanding" - Horn Book, USA
"Weirdo's War holds the attention rapt ... The characters are finely drawn and complex, the resolution satisfying but not easy. Definitely a page-turner."
- The Ottowa Citizen, Canada
"Tense novel about bullies ... the twist is that one of the bullies is a teacher"
- Independent on Sunday, UK
"As thought-provoking as it is exciting and addresses fundamental truths about human character and behaviour" - Booktrusted News, UK
Like many youngsters, I was occasionally bullied. I also saw others being bullied. And, if Im honest, in a small way I probably did a bit of bullying myself.
All this taught me two things. First, bullies don't bother to try and find
out what their victims are like as real people. And, second, victims try to avoid their bullies like the plague!
So what would happen, I wondered, if circumstances forced a bully and his victim together so that they couldnt avoid finding out more about each other - and themselves?
Weirdos War is the result.
Shortlisted for: - The Carnegie Medal
- The Writer's Guild Children's Book Award
- The Lancashire Children's Book Award
WEIRDO'S WAR
Also available as a
4 x cd audiobook
(c) Michael Coleman 2020