Recommended by: Nicola Traverse/@Mrs_Trav_
Author: Tia Fisher
Form and genre: Poetry/Bildungsroman narrative
Length: 410 pages
Brief synopsis: A poignant poetry novel about a young boy struggling to navigate life after the death of his father. With his home life in pieces and struggling with secondary life, Eric becomes embroiled with a drugs gang. Before he knows it, he is selling drugs across county lines.
Age recommendation: Y9+
Trigger Warnings:
Parental death (father dies of covid)
Strong language,
Drugs
Notable reasons for recommending: Highlights how young people are used by gangs.
Struggles of poverty.
Context – vulnerable communities.
Other Comments: Our pupils enjoyed reading about Eric. It stimulated lots of challenging discussions and raised necessary safeguarding support needed.
Due to the structure of the novel it is a quick read.