Being Billy

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by Phil Earle

Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 11+

Published by Penguin Books, 2011

Chapter books
Coming-of-age

About this book

Billy is angry with his ineffectual, alcoholic mother, with his abusive stepfather, with the supervisors at his residential home, the teachers at school... and the pupils. He is angry with the whole world and with himself.

And yet, with his younger brother and sister he is kind, caring, protective and responsible - so when it looks as though they may be taken from him, what is left of his world begins to fall apart.

This powerful and moving depiction of one boy's struggle to come to terms with what seems like a lifetime of rejection is absolutely gripping. A real page-turner written with compassion and insight which is surprisingly uplifting.

About the author

Phil Earle was born and raised in the great city of Hull. His first job was as a care worker in a children's home, which inspired him to train as a drama therapist. After a couple of years in the care sector, Phil chose the more sedate lifestyle of a bookseller and now spends his time writing children's books as well as selling them for a publisher. Phil lives on a hill in south-east London with his family, and writes on the bus to work. No one has used this as an excuse to pinch his laptop. Yet.