What About Tomorrow?

For the committed, intelligent reader, the novel is a rewarding experience for both sexes. For the less able reader, warn him it takes 'a bit of getting into' and encourage him to persevere - it will be worthwhile. On his newsround, Sam writes his bike off when he hits a tram, losing all his papers in the rain. Suffering from chock, and afraid of reprisals from his out-of-work, 1930s depression-hit family, he runs. And keeps on going. That's the story-line. It is also an insight into a fourteen-year-old's mind - a window opening out onto the world. The two key lines of the novel for me are: 'All part of the muddle. All part of the pain.' We all feel like that sometimes. And there's much her with which teenage readers will identify.