A poetic, gifty offering that combines first love, friendship, and persistant courage in this lyrical immigration story told in verse. Award-winning authors Brian Conaghan and Sarah Crossan tell a thought-provoking dual-narrated tale about two troubled teens, one immigrating to a new home and the other facing domestic violence, whose paths cross in the unlikeliest of places.
Nicu has emigrated from Romania and is struggling to find his place in his new home. Meanwhile, Jess's home life is overshadowed by violence. When Nicu and Jess meet, what starts out as friendship slowly blossoms into romance as the two bond over their painful pasts and their hope and dreams of a better future. But will they be able to save each other, let alone themselves?
This illuminating story told in dual points of view through vibrant verse will stay with readers long after they've finished.
Winner of the 2018 UKLA Book Award
Acclaim for Brian Conaghan
Shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Award, When Mr. Dog Bites
Shortlisted for the CBI Book of the Year Award, When Mr. Dog Bites
Acclaim for Sarah Crossan
Winner of the 2016 Carnegie Award, One
Winner of the 2016 Bookseller's prize for YA fiction, One
Winner of the 2016 CBI Book of the Year, One
Shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Award, Apple and Rain
Shortlisted for the 2013 Carnegie Award, The Weight of Water
Sarah Crossan is the author of Apple and Rain and The Weight of Water, both of which have been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal. She is also the author of the novels Breathe, Resist, and the 2016 Carnegie Medal winner One. She grew up in Ireland and England, has taught English in the United States, and now lives in Hertfordshire, England.
@SarahCrossan
Brian Conaghan was born and raised in the Scottish town of Coatbridge but now lives in Dublin. He has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. For many years Brian worked as a teacher and taught in Scotland, Italy and Ireland. His first YA novel, When Mr. Dog Bites, was shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Medal, and his second, The Bombs That Brought Us Together, won the 2016 Costa Children's Book Award. We Come Apart, a verse novel co-authored with Carnegie Medal winner Sarah Crossan, won the 2018 UKLA Book Award, and his fourth novel, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, won the 2018 Irish Book Award for Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year.
@BrianConaghan
Sarah Crossan is the author of young adult novels One, winner of the Carnegie Medal, Apple and Rain and The Weight of Water, both short-listed, Moonrise, Being Toffee, We Come Apart, co-written with Brian Conaghan and winner of the UKLA Book Award, Breathe, and Resist, as well as Here is the Beehive, a novel for adults. She grew up in Ireland and England, taught English in the United States and continues to promote creative writing in schools, and now lives in Hertfordshire. She is the current Laureate na nÓg (Children's Laureate) of Ireland.
Twitter: @SarahCrossan
Instagram: @SarahCrossanWriter
