But while he’s making new friends and avoiding the fists of Turner, his old nemesis, and struggling to come to terms with a strict new teacher and a sense of isolation from his brothers, a sudden surprise appearance in Nate’s life threatens to throw him completely off course. And The Beast – the anger he tries so hard to control – reappears. Will Nate find a way to keep himself and his family together?

Every wall must rattle when this change comes crashin in
before we start let’s fall apart – tomorrow, we begin.

—

A powerful new collection of contemporary poems for teenagers from Matt Goodfellow, winner of the CLiPPA 2024 and author of Let’s Chase Stars Together and The Final Year.

Ideal for young people aged 11+

With poems about everything from navigating your first day of secondary school at eleven to finding your first love at sixteen, this collection explores the highs, lows and messy middles of teenage life. Told in Matt Goodfellow’s engaging and powerful style, this book takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster; from anger at your teachers to those blissful, simple days with your mates. With poems that sensitively deal with difficult issues, there is a space in Matt’s poetry for all teens to feel seen, whether poetry is their thing or not!

‘Goodfellow has the knack for choosing all the right words’ – The Guardian

sayin see ya later to his mate?

That’s me:

Nathan Wilder

Nate.

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.

But when Shu Lin’s grandpa comes to school and shows the class his amazing Chinese paintings, everything changes?.

With a stunning double-gatefold spread revealing a beautiful Chinese picture, this uplifting story shows the transformative power of art and imagination in developing cultural understanding and empathy.