Hidden

Alix doesn’t want any trouble with the local bullies. But when she defends Samir, a boy who has recently joined their school, she finds herself pulled into his world – and, in the process, learning and growing in her understanding of the world. Samir is from Iraq, seeking refuge in England.

When Alix and Samir find a man close to drowning in the sea, Alix finds that she has to make a choice between what is safe and what is right.

This is a book about a serious subject which nonetheless preserves a warmth, comic touch and an optimistic approach. The least likely characters turn out to have hidden, empathetic depths, and the end is a resolution as full of hope as possible. It explores important, sobering topics like torture and the events that drive people to travel across the world to seek refuge, without at any point being bleak.