A Dangerous Game

All Sam wants is to prove that he is as strong and active as the other boys in his class. But his long-term illness (sickle-cell anaemia) means that he quickly runs out of energy and has frequent episodes of severe pain that put him in hospital.

Sam feels that his over-protective parents see him as someone who is either in hospital or just about to be there, and he hates it. Finally he gets a chance to do something he’s longed to do for years – go on a school trip.

The trip is a walking expedition in the Scottish mountains, but it goes badly wrong when the other boys in Sam’s group play a trick on the teachers and get their whole group lost in the woods. A heavy rainstorm brings flash floods and events quickly turn dangerous. Can Sam save the day?

This is a fast-paced adventure story with plenty of peril and Sam is an empathetic hero. There is an author’s note from Malorie Blackman with more information about sickle-cell anaemia, and the book is printed using dyslexia-friendly font and paper.

Note: This book was published in a different form as Forbidden Game by Puffin in 1994.