Dear Nobody

An unwanted pregnancy shatters lives - especially teenage lives. Yet, by the end of this remarkable Carnegie Medal winner, Chris and Helen's baby is 'a fine thread being drawn through a garment, mending tears'. Helen's pregnancy arouses a variety of emotion in those closest to her and it is this multiple layer of reactions which is so compellingly and convincingly examined. Her career in music and Chris' university place are jeopardised, giving both a sense of waste and urgency; if Helen is to have an abortion, it must be soon. She refuses to terminate the pregnancy and, unable to cope with the convolutions of her closest relationships, begins to correspond with the foetus - 'Dear Nobody'. This book is, above all else, honest - there are no easy answers and many hard decisions must be made, which lend sharp poignancy to the sensitive and skilful narrative. The prescriptive nature of National Curriculum reading should not prevent books like this being read as widely as possible. Buy a class set or get copies for the library.