THEMES

• Separation of children from parents
• Private dream worlds/fantasies as an escape from harsh reality
• Prejudice (teacher à student)
• Friendship
• Attitudes to disability

MAIN CHARACTERS

• Jim McLindon 13 years old; has a history of getting into trouble; wants to remain with his mother, Sharon, while she wishes to have him fostered; very knowledgeable about George Mallory’s Everest expeditions in the 1920s; reacts to stressful situations by imagining he is Mallory
• Sharon McLindon 29 years old; had Jim when she was only 16); raised him with help of her mother but has found it harder to cope with Jim’s bad behaviour since her mother died; wants freedom to follow her own dreams, such as starting a hairdressing business
• Stubby Redshaw a 13 year old friend of Jim’s; has a prosthetic boot; is treated cruelly by some people; has a good sense of humour
• The Wellands A middle class couple who foster Jim; Alan suffers from periodic depression
• Miranda The Wellands’ daughter; 13 years old; an only child, she has always wanted a brother; makes Jim very welcome; patient, understanding, determined
• Matt Davis Fast Food takeaway owner; blunt, prejudiced, cruel; Sharon’s fiancee
• Mr Bryant Head of St Xavier’s, Jim’s new school; prejudiced; unsympathetic; intimidating
• Mr Cooper A PE/Dance (?) teacher; cynical, sarcastic, insensitive
• Mrs Pryme A Personal Development (?) teacher; considerate, sensitive

POINTS TO DISCUSS

Refer to the notes at the back of the book.

Frankie Meehan