Overview

WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS TEEN & YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 SHORTLISTED FOR THE CBI BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019 LONGLISTED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019 Angry, stirring and tender, this is a bold, questioning exploration of the lengths to which we’ll go for the people we love. From the Costa Children’s Book Award winning author of When Mr Dog Bites and The Bombs That Brought Us Together. Bobby Seed has questions. What’s another word for ‘thesaurus’? How can I tell Bel I want her as my girl friend, not my girlfriend? How much pain is Mum in today? Has she taken her pills? And sometimes, secretly, Why us? Bobby’s little brother Danny has questions too. Will Bobby let him have Rice Krispies for dinner? And can he stay up late on the computer? And why won’t Mum’s stupid illness just GO AWAY? But it’s Mum’s question for Bobby that could turn everything on its head. It’s the Big One. The Unthinkable One. If Bobby agrees, he won’t just be soothing her pain. He’ll be helping to end it. Would he? Could he? Perfect for readers of Patrick Ness and Malorie Blackman.

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9781408871546

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Reviews

Beautifully observed and hilariously uncomfortable * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Guardian * Laughter is inevitable * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: Irish Times * This is a portrayal of young male bonding, complete with all the lively banter of true camaraderies, at its most tender and affectionate * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Irish Times * An outstanding debut, packed with energy and a brilliant distinctive voice * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Bookseller * Believable, funny, brave and vulnerable young male characters ... thought-provoking novel ... drama and tension in plenty ... irrepressible humour * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: Joy Court, The School Librarian * Humanity and humour thread through the challenging storyline from the first page to the very last * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: The Bookbag *

Conaghan is a sublime storyteller who can make the reader hang on his every last word (and all of the others) * The Times * This beautiful novel deals sensitively with the topics of illness, love, sexuality, friendship and dignified death * CBI Mind Yourself 2020 Reading Guide * Beautifully observed and hilariously uncomfortable * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Guardian * Laughter is inevitable * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: Irish Times * This is a portrayal of young male bonding, complete with all the lively banter of true camaraderies, at its most tender and affectionate * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Irish Times * An outstanding debut, packed with energy and a brilliant distinctive voice * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Bookseller * Believable, funny, brave and vulnerable young male characters ... thought-provoking novel ... drama and tension in plenty ... irrepressible humour * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: Joy Court, The School Librarian * Humanity and humour thread through the challenging storyline from the first page to the very last * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: The Bookbag *

Utterly moving and heartbreakingly beautiful, this is a brilliant novel * The Sun, Five Star Review * An emotional rollercoaster of a book, written with so much heart it bounces off of the page. The darkness is balanced by cracking dialogue and humour. A bold, life-affirming read' * The Irish Independent * Conaghan is a sublime storyteller who can make the reader hang on his every last word (and all of the others) ...Conaghan is sensitive and the dark plot retains a lightness. * Alex O'Connell, The Times, Children's Book of the Week * Although it's heartbreaking at times, there's also tenderness and humour ...The tremendous empathy with which Conaghan writes about young people is impressive * The Irish Times * Heart wrenching, honest, funny and bold, this exceptional novel about the life, loves and agonies of a young carer, and the love between a mum and her sons, is a storytelling triumph ...Always warm and witty, and never sentimental, this raw portrait of real-life ravages is suffused in the magic of the human heart. Bobby is an unforgettable, inspirational character - we could all do with taking a leaf from Bobby's book of strength and wit - and author Brian Conaghan is a writer of the highest rank. * Joanne Owen, LoveReading4Kids * Brian Conaghan is a courageous writer, never afraid to really go there. He combines the straight and the blunt of kitchen sink writing with a luminous meditation on the nature of love and life and death. And he has shone a supportive spotlight on the lives of thousands of young carers across the UK. I cried buckets * Jill Murphy, The Bookbag * Conaghan's lightness of touch and sense of humour shine through in this heartbreaking story, and each of the characters lingers in the imagination until the final page * The Scotsman * A hard-hitting, heartbreaking tale ...One sentence after another knocks the reader out * Independent * Brian Conaghan has done it again. Uncompromising, gritty, laced with a black humour, this is a novel that you live ... An extraordinary book to be recommended to thoughtful, enquiring readers prepared to take a step into the dark. * Books for Keeps * Truly outstanding * The School Librarian * A powerful love story about this unique family of three ...[a] beautiful novel * Inis Reading Guide * This is a portrayal of young male bonding, complete with all the lively banter of true camaraderies, at its most tender and affectionate * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Irish Times * Beautifully observed and hilariously uncomfortable * Praise for WHEN MR DOG BITES: Guardian * Believable, funny, brave and vulnerable young male characters ... thought-provoking novel ... drama and tension in plenty ... irrepressible humour * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: Joy Court, The School Librarian * Humanity and humour thread through the challenging storyline from the first page to the very last * Praise for THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER: The Bookbag *

Author Information

Brian Conaghan was born and raised in the Scottish town of Coatbridge but now lives in Dublin. He has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. For many years Brian worked as a teacher and taught in Scotland, Italy and Ireland. His first YA novel for Bloomsbury, When Mr Dog Bites, was shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Medal, and his second, The Bombs That Brought Us Together, won the 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award. We Come Apart, a verse novel co-authored with Carnegie Medal winner Sarah Crossan, won the 2018 UKLA Book Award, and his fourth novel, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, won the 2018 Irish Book Award for Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year. @BrianConaghan

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