The Hard Man of the Swings

by Jeanne Willis

Britain has won the war but Mick is fighting a losing battle. No matter how hard he tries, there's always a bigger fist around the corner. Ignored by his mother, lusted after by his mad cousin and separated from the kid brother he adores, Mick is forced to confront his own worst enemy.

Genres: Young Adult

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Jeanne Willis was born in St Albans and trained as an advertising copywriter at Watford College. She worked for various agencies creating press adverts and TV, cinema and radio commercials. She is now a full-time writer and has published over 80 books. Her hobbies include gardening, reading (non-fiction), natural history and collecting caterpillars. Jeanne has also worked on scripts for TV, including POLLY POCKET and THE SLOW NORRIS, and a pilot TV series for DR XARGLE. She lives in North London with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In some ways I felt that I was reading a mystery - such was the main character's misunderstanding of his own situation in his early years. As he matured, he sometimes figured things out, sometimes stumbled onto knowledge, and sometimes had unpleasant truths thrust at him. But with his resilient spirit, he struggled to keep a positive spin on the relationships in his life.

Without giving away any of the story, let me say this: by the end of the book, I felt that I had just finished reading a very different story than what I started out reading. It's the sort of book that makes you wish someone were reading over your shoulder, so you could discuss some of the events with them.

Note: This is a frankly written young adult book; not suitable for a young child.

[Liz]

Ending kinda has me goin INSANE