The Bubble Boy

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by Stewart Foster

Interest age: 10 to 11
Reading age: 10+

Published by Simon and Schuster, 2016

About this book

Joe has always lived in a sterile room in a hospital. He's the 'bubble boy': documented on TV because of a rare condition, affecting his immune system, that keeps him vacuum-packed from the rest of society. Like any other kid, Joe loves films, superheroes, football and chatting to his friends - but his whole life is lived through a screen.

Stewart Foster's debut is light-hearted and unusual enough to stop younger readers dwelling on Joe's traumatic situation too much. Joe himself is mostly upbeat and able to enjoy the things and people he loves.

The arrival of a new nurse certainly livens up life on the ward - and Amir is a colourful creation. Her eccentricities lead the story into some rather far-fetched territory but that's probably a good thing, since real life for Joe is not much fun.

The Bubble Boy will speak to many readers, as they might find it is their similarity to Joe that surprises them, despite their apparently dramatic differences.

About the author

Stewart Foster is an adult and children's novelist, born in Bath. His books have won multiple school and library awards and are recommended by Empathy Lab and Reading Well. His first adult book, We Used to be Kings, was published in 2014, to the accolades of being selected as The Observers' Author to Watch, and Amazons' Rising Star, in the same year. His first children's book, The Bubble Boy, was published in 2016, winning Sainsbury's Children's Book Award in 2016 (Age 9+) and many schools and libraries awards, as well as being nominated for The Carnegie Book Award. The book was published as BUBBLE, in USA and has been translated into eleven languages. Since then, Stewart has written four more children's books – All the Things That Could Go Wrong, Checkmates, The Perfect Parent Project and Can You Feel the Noise?