Compelling drama in which 17-year-old Ellis comes to terms with the meaning of death...

Ellis is an ordinary 17-year-old; someone who's planning to finish school and go to university like any other teenager. The difference is that four months ago, his best friend Simon killed himself. Still - that was four months ago. Ellis has now `got over it'.

Except, of course, he hasn't. Returning to his home town, he gets drawn into a situation in which the `old' Ellis would never have become embrangled. He gatecrashes a party and persuaded to `rescue' two sisters - Ursa and Leo, driving them back to the Land of Smiles - the ex-motel where they live.

From that moment on, nothing is the same again. The story is narrated hour-by-hour, as Ellis packs a life-time of experiences into the next twenty-four hours. Giving in to high spirits and booze, Ellis wakes next morning in a strange bed, with a stonking hangover and a shaven head! He learns that a child has been kidnapped, and is persuaded to help in her rescue...

This is a bizarre, surreal and powerful novel in which the reader is taken on the same roller-coaster ride as Ellis.

This book has been graded for interest at 12+ years.

There are 192 pages in this book. This book was published 2014 by HarperCollins Publishers .

Authors featuring on this anthology include Margaret Mahy, Allan Ahlberg, Dick King-Smith, Adele Geras, Michael Rosen, Linda Allen and Vivian French