Author(s): Alison Prince

Fiction

Cal's long, dull summer is about to change...Cal would rather avoid reality. He hates school; his teachers are badgering him to decide on a career; his sister Jess has moved away from the Scottish island where they live, and the band they play in is falling apart. Not to mention both his parents embarking on embarrassing affairs - gross! Nothing seems to be going right and he'd rather just not bother. Then he meets Kerry, an Australian girl new to the Island, and over the course of a long summer they begin to fall in love. When the summer draws to a close though, and Kerry finds out she's pregnant, it's time for Cal to face up to reality at last...Thsi is a refreshingly honest - and often very funny - look at first love. It is written by a well-respected literary author, winner of the Guardian Children's Book Award and runner-up for the Smarties Prize. Set on the beautiful Isle of Arran, this novel addresses disaffected youth in a convincing and unpatronising way. It is very well written - and often wryly funny - account of first love from an award-winning author. It addresses issues of race (Kerry is part-Aboriginal), teenage pregnancy, extramarital affairs and global warming.