by Patrice Lawrence
 
"These are the promises Mum made when social services said we were allowed to live together again. 1) Mum would give up her bad friends. 2) She would make sure we always had food and it was going to be healthy. 3) She would stop smoking. 4) She would use the money she saves from not smoking to buy fruit and vegetables".

One of our favourite, award-wining, authors, now recruited for a new 'super-readable' series, ideal for reluctant readers. Al's beloved mum has been in and out of prison, leaving Al to move between various family members' and foster homes. This time, his Mum has been caught shoplifting-for food to feed him. She's going to prison again. Al is very clear who's to blame for her being sent down. And that person lives downstairs. Revenge is tantalisingly close to hand. Revenge is sweet. And with pet rats, Venom and Vulture, let loose, what could possibly go wrong...

Lawrence is on form with her trademark accelerating plots and impeccable research (here, on the wider prison and criminal justice systems) and she is, as ever, comfortably and keenly attuned to young people's voices. No plot spoilers here. Some fantastic back notes: information on prison, borstals and rats (!); a roll call of characters; suggestions for further reading; questions & quiz; a vital glossary ['mussed up', 'wasteman']. Part of Oxford University Press' 'Super-Readable Rollercoatsers' series in association with Barrington Stoke, edited to be dyslexia-friendly and accessible to as wide a range of readers as possible. Age: 9+, Paperback 147pp