A brilliant coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the Cold War and events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Clem Ackroyd lives with his parents and grandmother in a claustrophobic home too small to accommodate their larger-than-life characters in the bleak Norlfolk countryside. Clem's life changes irrevocably when he meets Frankie, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, and experiences first love, in all its pain and glory. The story is told in flashback by Clem when he is living and working in New York City as a designer, and moves from the past of his parents and grandmother to his own teenage years. Not only the threat of explosions, but actual ones as well, feature throughout in this latest novel from one of the finest writers working today.

 

There are 416 pages in this book. This book was published 2011 by Walker Books Ltd .

Mal Peet is the author of the acclaimed young adult novels, Tamar, winner of the 2005 Carnegie Medal, and The Penalty, sequel to Keeper. He lives in Devon with his family.