The Bombs That Brought Us Together

Shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book Award 2016

It was hard to remain silent. I tried. I really did, but my breathing kept getting louder as I gasped for clean air. My body was trembling, adding noise to the silence.

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Law has lived in Little Town, on the border with Old Country, all his life.

He knows the rules: no going out after dark; no drinking; no litter; no fighting. You don't want to get on the wrong side of the people who run Little Town.

When he meets Pavel Duda, a refugee from Old Country, the rules start to get broken. Then the bombs come, and the soldiers from Old Country, and Little Town changes for ever. Sometimes, to keep the people you love safe, you have to do bad things.

As Little Town's rules crumble, Charlie is sucked into a dangerous game. There's a gun, and a bad man, and his closest friend, and his dearest enemy. Charlie Law wants to keep everyone happy, even if it kills him. And maybe it will...

From the author of acclaimed children’s novel When Mr Dog Bites comes a story about war as seen through the eyes of those growing up in its shadow.

A perfect choice for readers of Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy, John Boyne and Malorie Blackman.

‘Punctuated with smatterings of hilarious off-piste humour, this aptly titled novel cleverly explores how love and friendship can blossom even in the face of profound personal and political turmoil.’ – The New Scotsman