I Am the Minotaur

Matthew does his best to be invisible, especially at school. He doesn’t want anyone to notice him or use the horrible nickname ‘Stinky Mog’ that he was given a few years ago. Everything is much easier if no one notices him, so he stays under the radar and watches life from the side-lines.

The only good part of Matthew’s day is Ariadne, one of the popular girls in his class, whom he admires from afar. When Ariadne discovers that her new bike has been stolen, Matthew is determined to do something positive and makes a reckless decision: to get her bike back. It’s a choice that will have big consequences and a choice that will definitely get him noticed, and not exactly in the way he imagined.

As a young carer, Matthew’s home life is as equally devastating as his school life and this is an emotionally charged story that unflinchingly tackles very challenging themes of poverty, neglect and bullying. Yet it is also full of hope as Matthew finds that friendship and change can be found in unexpected places. Matthew is brave in his choices, though he perhaps doesn’t entirely think them through – but this of course makes them all the more relatable and understandable.

Printed in a dyslexia friendly format.

Note: includes some limited swearing