Nicky is confronted by the school bully Peter who is constantly teasing him about his disabled brother Kenny. Things are complicated because Nicky really likes the bully's sister Sarah ( who has stood up for him in the past and is nothing like her brother.) Things come to a head when Nicky, angry at his own inability to ask Sarah out explodes and shoves Peter. Peter falls and has an epileptic fit. The consequences for Nicky are dire...he is expelled from school. With his father a recovering alcoholic, a disabled brother, money is tight....what has Nicky done?
This book starts off with Nicky and Kenny rescuing a rook from the clutches of a hawk and Kenny wanting to nurse it back to health. When the rook disappears from its cardboard box in front of the fire, Nicky assumes it is dead and his Dad has made up some story to placate Kenny. This short story follows on from the other Barrington stoke books of Lark, Brock and Pike, and captures the single-mindedness and blind rage that comes with the teenage years very well. Nicky's frustration and anger against the world is captured and the reader feels for him as he battles to control the jumble of conflicting feelings inside him.
Excellent writing from Anthony McGowan with a nice ending. ( )