The Bombs That Brought Us Together - Hardcover

Conaghan, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 161963838X ISBN 13: 9781619638389

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2016

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Law has lived in Little Town, on the border with Old Country, all his life. He knows the rules: no going out after dark; no drinking; no litter; no fighting. You don't want to get on the wrong side of the people who run Little Town. When he meets Pavel Duda, a refugee from Old Country, the rules start to get broken. Then the bombs come, and the soldiers from Old Country, and Little Town changes forever.

Sometimes, to keep the people you love safe, you have to do bad things. As Little Town's rules crumble, Charlie is sucked into a dangerous game. There's a gun, and a bad man, and his closest friend, and his dearest enemy.

Charlie Law wants to keep everyone happy, even if it kills him. And maybe it will . . . But he's got to kill someone else first.

About this title

About the Author

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

Reviews

Gr 7 Up—Told from the perspective of 14-year-old Charlie, this book brings light to communities where teens are struggling under a repressive government or regime pressured by a larger neighboring nation (think current events in Ukraine or the Middle East). Set in a fictional modern world, this story features a teenager who befriends a refugee who moved from Old Country, the neighboring nation that bombs Little Town. Their friendship grows and is tested, most notably by school bullies and the corrupt gang leader Big Man. Charlie struggles with the lure of a gang leader who offers what he needs during a time of crisis, the social pressures of cultural prejudice, and even desire for the pretty girl at school. The slow-moving plot eventually crescendoes into an unexpected climax—readers will fly through the last portion of the book in one sitting. VERDICT Recommended for classroom discussion and for those interested in realistic fiction about a world in turmoil.—Seth Herchenbach, McHenry Community College, IL

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 161963838X
• ISBN 13: 9781619638389
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368