I Was a Schoolboy Bridegroom

by Alex Shearer

13 year old Bosworth Hartie didn't think his parents could inflict much more mental torture on him - isn't having the worst name in the world enough! Then they get it into their heads to find him a a nice, dependable girl who will keep Bozzie on the straight and narrow.To Bosworth's horror they match him up with one Veronica Melling, a girl whose spiteful nature and butter wouldn't melt facade, guarantee that his life is hell. Bosworth decides to run away, the day before his so called engagement party - that should put an end to this ridiculous idea! What Bosworth doesn't know is that Veronica has the very same idea, and in a cruel twist of fate the two of them end up running away together - and hiding out in Veronica's gran's caravan by the seaside. Veronica turns out to be every bit as annoying and petty as he thought, but as the days go by, the two of them learn to rub along together, until, by the time their whereabouts are discovered, they actually kind of...like each other. A wonderfully wry and nicely paced story of a microcosmic marriage...

Paperback

Published January 1, 2006

About the author

Alex Shearer started his writing career as a scriptwriter and has had great success in that field. His credits include The Two of Us, the 1990s sitcom starring Nicholas Lyndhurst. More recently he has started writing for children. His Wilmot stories have been adapted for TV by Yorkshire television, and his children's novel, The Greatest Store in the World, was screened as a feature length TV film on Christmas Eve 1999 by the BBC. Alex's recent novel 'The Speed of the Dark' was shortlisted for the 2002 Guardian Fiction Prize

Alex Shearer lives with his family in Somerset. He has written more than a dozen books for both adults and children, as well as many successful television series, films, and stage and radio plays. He has had over thirty different jobs, and has never given up trying to play the guitar.

Reviews

[Zygintas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pirmas sakinys: Atvirai sakant, visai negalvojau vesti, nes prieš akis turėjau rūpesčių su savo triušiais.

Gan paprasta istorija, kai tėvai, apsivalgę indiško maisto, nutaria sužadėti trylikamečius, kad jie taptų labiau atsakingi. Santuoka, aišku būtų vėliau. Aišku, vaikai vienas kito nekenčia nuo pirmo susitikimo, prieš sužadėtuves, aišku, pabėga, ir, aišku, susitinka tame pačiame traukinyje. Kaip viskas baigėsi irgi viskas aišku, tačiau labai maloniai nustebino gero humoro kiekis šioje paaugliams skirtoje knygoje: skaityti šablonišką istoriją nebuvo nei nuobodu, nei ilgu. O ta dalis, kur Bosvortas Hartis ir Veronika Andželika Belinda Meling "pradeda" bendrą gyvenimą vasarnamyje Stomptono Pliažuose, yra puiki suaugusiųjų parodija, dėl kurios vaikai griūs iš juoko.

[Martyna Mituzaitė · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was enjoying this book a lot, the relationship between two main characters was interesting to me. I read this book when I was very young so I can't remember much, but one thing I do remember is that I laughed a lot. Also, the main point was very sweet - you can't say, that you know a place, if you don't know, how it looks in summer, in winter, in spring and in autumn. The same goes for people. Would recommend ^-^

[Folakemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

i vividly remember listening to the library audiobook version of this when i was young enough to marvel at the idea of riding a train independently. it’s funny how odd little details stick with you from childhood reading. i remember that this novel taught me what a dowry was and the importance of patience beyond a first impression. removing a star because the title was hard to find

[Stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

very funny