A Dangerous Game
by Malorie Blackman, illustrated by Mike Lowery
Interest age: 8 to 11
Reading age: 8+
Published by Barrington Stoke, 2018
About this book
All Sam wants is to prove that he is as strong and active as the other boys in his class. But his long-term illness (sickle-cell anaemia) means that he quickly runs out of energy and has frequent episodes of severe pain that put him in hospital.
Sam feels that his over-protective parents see him as someone who is either in hospital or just about to be there, and he hates it. Finally he gets a chance to do something he’s longed to do for years – go on a school trip.
The trip is a walking expedition in the Scottish mountains, but it goes badly wrong when the other boys in Sam’s group play a trick on the teachers and get their whole group lost in the woods. A heavy rainstorm brings flash floods and events quickly turn dangerous. Can Sam save the day?
This is a fast-paced adventure story with plenty of peril and Sam is an empathetic hero. There is an author’s note from Malorie Blackman with more information about sickle-cell anaemia, and the book is printed using dyslexia-friendly font and paper.
Note: This book was published in a different form as Forbidden Game by Puffin in 1994.
About the author
More books like this
-
Endgame
by Malorie Blackman
12+ years
-
We're Going to Find the Monster
by Malorie Blackman, illustrated by Dapo Adeola
2 to 6 years
-
Ellie and the Cat
by Malorie Blackman, illustrated by Matt Robertson
6 to 12 years
-
Flights of Fancy: Stories, Pictures and Inspiration from Ten Children’s Laureates
by Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen, Julia Donaldson, Anthony Browne, Malorie Blackman, Chris Riddell and Lauren Child
6 to 12 years