Watch out for Jamie Joel. She s got a real temper and a mouth like a sewer when she gets going. Jamie imagined the new deputy reading her file, with a photo the size of a Wanted poster and words like disruptive , unco-operative , inappropriate underneath it all that teacher stuff that never said what really happened. I reminded Jamie that student behaviour management was my job, and that part of the issue was now her identity crisis in the corridor. From the way she looked at me, I had the distinct feeling that it wasn t possible to be a deputy principal and a human being at the same time.Against the background of a busy high school, student and teacher are thrown together in ways that test them both. With sympathy, humour and a sharp eye for the truth, Mike Dumbleton writes about the complicated push-and-pull between teenagers, parents and schools.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 14-18 years.

There are 144 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2004 by Allen & Unwin .

Mike Dumbleton has many years' experience as a teacher, including time as a deputy principal, in a number of schools in disadvantaged areas. He is the author of several books for children, including Mr Knuckles (A+U, illustrated by Leigh Hobbs) and Pumped Up (A+U, illustrated by Shane Nagle).