The Bombs That Brought Us Together

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Law lives in strictly regulated, curfew-ridden Little Town; Pavel Duda's a refugee from Old Country, across the border. They shouldn't be friends, but when Pav starts at Charlie's school, Charlie decides to tutor him in Little Town language skills, in a luxury hangout shed at the bottom of the garden - which may or may not also be an ideal place to invite girls.

But when the bombs and the Old Country soldiers come, Charlie and Pav's friendship becomes something more complex, and nothing will be as simple again.

At once a complex and rounded friendship story and a topical, uncomfortable look at communities in conflict, this is a compulsive teen read that successfully achieves a difficult balance: entertainment and social commentary.