See that tall, skinny kid with the ball in his hand sayin see ya later to his mate? That's me: Sathan WilderNate. 10 years old and a week away from the end of Year 5. Life can be tough in your last year of primary school.
Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS is at his side - they've been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes, and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, Nate's world turns upside-down.
As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he's dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital. His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that's lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to process what's going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough? A powerful and lyrical story about finding your place in the world and the people that matter within it.
Tests to take, preparing for the change to high school. Nate is ready for it all, knowing his best friend PS is at his side - they've been inseparable since Nursery. But when they are put in two different classes, and PS finds a new friend in Turner, the school bully, Nate's world turns upside-down.
As he struggles to make sense of this and forge new friendships, he's dealt another blow when his youngest brother, Dylan is rushed into hospital. His new teacher, Mr Joshua, sees a spark inside of Nate that's lit by his love of reading and writing and shows him how to use this to process what's going on. But with so much working against him, and anger rising inside him, will this be enough? A powerful and lyrical story about finding your place in the world and the people that matter within it.
Read our review on justimagine.co.uk
Tagged 2024 CLiPPA shortlist , Carnegie Medal Writing 2025 , Read for Empathy 2024 , top pick , UKLA longlist 7 - 10 2025 , UKLA Shortlist 2025 and verse novel