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Major Article 03
 
‘Teenage fiction has just about grown up; hopefully it will never quite make it’

Teenage Fiction in the Language Classroom

Lieve Deprez and Johan Strobbe

Lieve Deprez  is a teacher of EFL at a technical secondary school in Torhout, Belgium. 
E-mail: lievedeprez@yahoo.com

Johan Strobbe  teaches business English and English for Law at the University of Leuven, Campus Kortrijk. He is also a staff member of the teacher training department at the University of Leuven and a teacher of EFL at a general secondary school in Brugge, Belgium.
E-mail: johan.strobbe@arts.kuleuven.be

Menu
Introduction
Do you fancy me? – worksheets
Do you fancy me? – teacher’s notes
Do You Fancy Me? – extract
Girls under pressure – worksheets
Girls under pressure – teacher’s notes
Girls under pressure - extract
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – worksheets
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – teacher’s notes
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time- extract
Tim Bowler, Shadows – worksheets and extract
Shadows – teacher’s notes
Teenage Fiction: List of books that can be used in EFL

Introduction
As we are writing this article – in July 2005 – tens of thousands of fans – both children and adults – are queuing in front of bookshops all over the world to get their hands on a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, book 6 in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Another best-selling novel these days is Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now. The book was awarded the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2004. Adolescents will definitely identify with Daisy, the fifteen-year-old main character, whose world is turned upside down during a summer holiday in the English countryside. But adults too will love the book. When it was shortlisted for the Orange Award for New Writers it was presented as ‘a novel for all ages’. In 2003 Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the prestigious Whitbread Book Award. So far Mark Haddon has written 18 books for children. However, he was not the first children’s author to win that award. In 2001 Philip Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass - the third volume in the Dark Materials trilogy  - was chosen the Whitbread Book of the Year. This book too was written for children. It is most popular, however, with adults as well. These are just some examples that make clear that teenage fiction is being taken more and more seriously. It is therefore striking and even somewhat frustrating that teenage fiction is very often ‘forgotten’ in the teaching of English as a foreign language. In most textbooks it is completely absent. 

In Literature Alan Duff and Alan Maley distinguish three types of justification for using literary texts in the classroom: linguistic, methodological and motivational. In terms of language literary texts offer authentic samples of a wide range of styles and registers. Moreover, literary texts are open to multiple interpretation. This ‘opinion gap’ can elicit genuine interaction among students. The motivational justification is about the genuine feel of literary texts. They touch upon themes to which our learners can bring a personal response. As teachers of English as a foreign language we would add another justification. By teaching literature we come up to the expectations of our students. They often ask us for a good book to read. And we are convinced that most of our learners like literature provided that the material we teach is accessible and touches upon themes that interest them.

Why should we teach teenage fiction then? For the very same reasons! The linguistic justification is particularly important here: most teenage books are written in a very lively, present day English which is very often absent in EFL-textbooks. It need hardly be said that the motivational factor is most prominent here. Teenage fiction is about themes that concern adolescent learners: friendship, love, drugs, running away, bullying, anorexia… This is a powerful motivator. To quote Melvin Burgess, a most popular writer of teenage fiction: ‘What is different about these books is this; that they address teenagers directly. It’s not a question of overhearing information aimed at twenty-somethings, or playing violent computer games at age twelve when it has 18+ printed on the box, or reading reminisces about some old bloke's first sexual experiences back in the sixties. It's here and now, people your age doing these things today.(…) Teenage fiction has just about grown up; hopefully it will never quite make it. It is about young people reading books and recognizing themselves. I want people to be able to pick up one of my books and think - I know this stuff and I know these people; this is mine’.

We have used several teenage books in the classroom and these lessons have been most rewarding. In this article we would like to present some examples that have opportunities to include the different skills and that have proved to be successful. It should be clear that our approach is not about the study of literature. We use the texts primarily for language learning. We believe that while reading students acquire a lot of the so-called language skills, involuntarily and without conscious effort. We hope that this brief introduction has made clear that teenage fiction is a powerful means to achieve to goal!

‘Do you fancy me?’ deals with an extract from Narinder Dhami, Bend It Like Beckham, a novel based on the popular film. We used the extract with intermediate students. A possible problem with teaching literature is that literary texts are often written in language that may be difficult to read for (lower) intermediate learners. One way of making authentic literary texts accessible is to lift out the conversations from the text and delete the (more difficult) descriptions. In a later stage the complete extract is presented and students feel very motivated to read what it is all about.
A listening extract sheds even more light on the outcome of the story.

The lesson about Jacqueline Wilson, Girls under Pressure starts with some ‘agony aunts’ that deal with typical teenage problems. The students discuss them and write answer letters. They also present their answers to the class and discuss them with their fellow students. Afterwards they read the extract from Girls under Pressure and discover the characters are having the same problems.

In Mark Haddon’s, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time the students get to know Christopher, who is investigating the murder of his neighbour’s dog. The students are invited to join Christopher in his investigation and make suggestions about the possible murderer. This way they explore the text step by step and gradually get to know more about the situation. Speaking, writing and reading are constantly intertwined in this lesson.

The extract from Tim Bowler’s Shadows is introduced by a small conversation about some lines students very probably have heard many times in their lives. The lines turn out to be the exact words of Jamie’s father in the novel. The conversation prepares students for reading an extract from Shadows. They learn about the relationship between Jamie and his father. Afterwards they discuss in pairs how to complete a dialogue between Jamie and his father that takes place later in the story. Listening to the original version of the dialogue gives them food for some further discussion.

Do you fancy me? - worksheets
In the following conversations the speakers seem to have problems with their relationships. Can you find out what ‘s going on?
Split up into groups of three or four and think of a possible explanation of what is happening. The questions under each conversation can be helpful.

Conversation 1

‘Beckham is the best.’

‘I really like Beckham too.’

‘Of course you do. No-one can cross a ball or bend it like Beckham.’

‘No, Jess, I really like Beckham.’

‘What? You mean …? But you’re Indian?’

‘I haven’t told anyone yet. Only you.’

‘God, what’s your mum going to say?’

-   Who are the speakers?
-   Who do they fancy?
-   What’s their problem? Why is it a problem?

Conversation 2

‘Tony, do you fancy me? Do  you fancy me, Tony?’

‘ ‘I like you, yeah’.

‘Well, good, maybe we can go out together then, yeah?’

‘Jess, what’s going on?’

‘I’m sorry, Tony, I just think I need an Indian boyfriend…’

‘What is going on, Jess? You’re acting all weird.’

‘Sorry… You know my coach? Well, I – I nearly kissed him in Germany.’

‘Wow! So that’s why you need an Indian boyfriend?’

‘Well, Jules likes him too, and now she hates me.’

‘Look, Jess, you can’t plan who you fall for. It just happens.

-   Who are the speakers?
-   Who do they fancy?
-   What’s their problem? Why is it a problem?

Conversation 3

‘My sister thinks you’re mad about me.’

‘I am. I just don’t want to marry you.’

‘I wonder what all those tossers would say if they knew.’

‘Jess, you’re not going to tell anyone?’

‘Of course not. It’s OK, Tony. I mean, it’s OK with me…’

-   Who are the speakers?
-   Who do they fancy?
-   What’s their problem? Why is it a problem?

Now exchange ideas with the other groups and defend your idea the best you can.
Would you like to know what it is all about? 
Well then, listen to the complete conversation and find out if you need to change your interpretation. Write down your findings and again discuss them with the rest of the class.

You can only know for sure if your guesswork is right when you read the complete extract taken from the youth novel Bend It Like Beckham. 

- Was your interpretation right? If not, where did it go wrong? Why do you think it went 
    wrong?
-   Who is Jess in love with? Who is he?
-   Why can’t she go out with him?
-   Who is Tony in love with?
-   So, this means he is ……………….
-   Why has he never told anyone?
-   Does this conversation with Tony help Jess? Why can you say that?
-   Does this attitude of Indian people differ a lot from ours? Which sentence expresses this attitude very well?

Do you fancy me? – teacher’s notes

Aims and activities
- Suggesting possible contexts for dialogue extracts
- Exchanging and discussing suggestions (speaking)
- Listening for specific purposes 
- Reading a youth novel extract to get the context of a dialogue + more detailed reading 
  comprehension
- Listening for information
- Cultural component: Indian culture in England

Conversations 1, 2 and 3
-   Who are the speakers?
-   Who do they fancy?
-   What’s their problem? Why is it a problem?

Personal answers and suggestions of the pupils

Tapescript
‘Tony, do you fancy me? Do  you fancy me, Tony?’

‘ ‘I like you, yeah’.

‘Well, good, maybe we can go out together then, yeah?’

‘Jess, what’s going on?’

‘I’m sorry, Tony, I just think I need an Indian boyfriend…’

‘What is going on, Jess? You’re acting all weird.’

‘Sorry… You know my coach? Well, I – I nearly kissed him in Germany.’

‘Wow! So that’s why you need an Indian boyfriend?’

‘Well, Jules likes him too, and now she hates me.’

‘Look, Jess, you can’t plan who you fall for. It just happens. Look at … Posh and Becks!’

‘Beckham is the best.’

‘I really like Beckham too.’

‘Of course you do. No-one can cross a ball or bend it like Beckham.’

‘No, Jess, I really like Beckham.’

‘What? You mean …? But you’re Indian?’

‘I haven’t told anyone yet. Only you.’

‘God, what’s your mum going to say?’
 (…) ‘My sister thinks you’re mad about me.’

‘I am. I just don’t want to marry you.’

‘I wonder what all those tossers would say if they knew.’

‘Jess, you’re not going to tell anyone?’

‘Of course not. It’s OK, Tony. I mean, it’s OK with me…’

‘Well, you fancying your gora coach is OK with me. Besides, he’s kind of fit!’

Reading the extract
-   Was your interpretation right? If not, where did it go wrong? Why do you think it went 
     wrong?
Personal answers

-   Who is Jess in love with? Who is he?
Jess is in love with Joe, the coach of her football club.

-   Why can’t she go out with him?
Her friend Jules likes him too.
She’s Indian and Joe isn’t.

-   Who is Tony in love with?
Tony is in love with Beckham.

-   So, this means he is gay.

-   Why has he never told anyone?
Because he’s Indian and gays are no part of Indian culture.

-   Does this conversation with Tony help Jess? Why can you say that?
She doesn’t feel quite so alone anymore.
She gets the feeling she could cope with her problem.
Tony says it’s OK with him she fancies her white coach. So there is already someone who can accept it.

-   Does this attitude of Indian people differ a lot from ours? Which sentence expresses this attitude very well?
No, in fact people in both cultures react in a similar way.
cf. ‘Choosing a different lifestyle to the one everyone expected you to have meant big trouble.’

Do You Fancy Me? - extract

'Tony, do you fancy me?' I asked abruptly.
Tony looked pretty taken aback. We were sitting in the bandstand in the park watching the other boys playing football and, up until a few seconds ago, we'd been talking about what a prat Taz could be. My sudden change of subject had gobsmacked him completely. He stared at me as if I'd suddenly grown two heads or something.
'Do you fancy me, Tony?' I repeated impatiently. I was trying to think of something I could do to get Joe out of my head. Going out with someone else was my best idea so far.
'I like you, yeah,’ Tony said cautiously, but he didn't sound over-enthusiastic. But then again, neither was I.
'Well, good,’ I said briskly. 'Maybe we can go out together then, yeah?'
Tony laughed nervously. He was hardly jumping at the chance I was offering him, which certainly wasn't doing a whole lot for my ego. 'Jess, what's going on?'
'I'm sorry, Tony,’ I mumbled. 'I just think I need an Indian boyfriend …’
'What is going on, Jess?' Tony asked again, looking even more confused. 'You're acting all weird.'
'Sorry.' I hesitated, wondering how much to tell him. 'You know my coach?'
Tony nodded.
'Well, I - I nearly kissed him in Germany,' I confessed, my face burning with embarrassment.
Tony burst out laughing. 'Wow!' he exclaimed. 'So that's why you need an Indian boyfriend?'
'Well, Jules likes him too, and now she hates me,’ I finished off gloomily.
'Look, Jess, you can't plan who you fall for,’ Tony pointed out. 'It just happens. Look at...' He frowned for a minute, thinking. 'Posh and Becks!'
I grinned. 'Beckham is the best.'
'I really like Beckham too,’ Tony agreed.
'Of course you do,’ I said. 'No-one can cross a ball or bend it like Beckham.'
Tony was staring at me in a very strange way. ‘No, Jess,’ he said gently. ‘I really like Beckham.’
For a second or two I didn’t understand what he meant. Then, finally, I sussed exactly what he was saying, and my eyes opened wide.
'What? You mean... ?' I couldn't quite get the words out.
Tony nodded.
'But you're Indian!' I gasped. Which was probably the least helpful thing I could have come up with.
'I haven't told anyone yet,’ Tony said quickly. 'Only you.'
I sat there in shock. Tony was gay? We'd been mates for years, and I'd never noticed a thing. Then I couldn't help smiling as something suddenly struck me. 'God, what's your mum going to say?'
Tony shrugged, and I finally began to take in what all this meant for him. Gays weren't part of Indian culture. Everyone pretended they just didn't exist. What the hell was Tony going to do? At some point in his life, he was going to have to make some difficult choices. I stared at him as if I was seeing him properly for the very first time, knowing that he was going to have the same problems I was having with my parents if he wanted to live his own life. Choosing a different lifestyle to the one everyone expected you to have meant big trouble. Suddenly, I didn't feel quite so alone.
'My sister thinks you're mad about me,’ I teased him.
'I am,' Tony replied. 'I just don't want to marry you.'
He got up and walked across to the other side of the bandstand. I followed him, and we stood watching Taz and the others playing footie for a few minutes.
I grinned. 'I wonder what all those tossers would say if they knew.'
Tony looked alarmed. 'Jess, you're not going to tell anyone?'
'Of course not,’ I said quickly. 'It's OK, Tony. I mean, it's OK with me ...'
'Well, you fancying your gora coach is OK with me,' Tony said solemnly. 'Besides, he's kind of fit!'
We both burst out laughing. Maybe I could cope. After all, I wasn't the only person in the world who had problems ...

Girls under pressure - worksheets

Help!
Maisie Smith works for a magazine. It's her task to take care of the problem pages.  She is very devoted to her job and so she tries to offer her readers serious answers, which can really help them to find a solution.
But, as she's got the flu, she has to stay in bed this week. Her magazine offers you the opportunity to answer some of the most urgent problem letters. Therefore, split up the class into five groups. Each group gets one problem letter. Discuss the problem very thoroughly. Try to formulate what it is all about and then try to suggest some advice in an answer letter.

Afterwards you'll have a class conversation. There every group presents in short the problem they have been dealing with and the advice they are planning to suggest.  Now the other pupils of the class may give comment.

In the discussion answer the following questions:
How, do you think, are the different characters linked?
What could happen if the characters don't follow the advice you have offered them?

Now read the text. Not all the difficult words have been explained, as this is not necessary to understand the gist of the text. You should be able to answer the following questions:

1.	Are the characters linked the way you suggested?  What was 'right', what was 'wrong'?
2.	The title of the book this extract was taken from is Girls under pressure.  Which (What?) two pressures does Ellie experience here?  Find clues for your answer in the text.
3.	Does she get any support from the others to cope with her problems? In what way?
4.	What period of the year does the party take place? How do you know?
5.	Ellie sometimes gets ironical. Can you find some examples in the text?

Shock your teacher and read a book!

If you want to find out how things work out in the end, just read this for yourself in Jacqueline Wilson's Girls under pressure (Corgi Books, 1999).

Girls under pressure – teacher’s notes
Aims and activities
- speaking: discussing problems with relationships, trying to formulate solutions, presenting   
   results of a group discussion to the class, giving arguments
- writing: suggesting advice in an answer letter
- reading an extract from a book for young people: reading for the gist, comparing the  
  students’ ideas with the information given in the extract
- reading for pleasure: inviting the students to read the whole book

Pre-reading activities
The class is split up into five groups.  Each group gets ONE problem letter.  The pupils discuss what the problem is and then they try to write an answer letter in which they offer some advice.  At this stage the pupils are not aware of the link between all those letters.

Afterwards there is a class discussion.  Each group presents the problem they have been talking about and the advice they have suggested. 
After doing so the pupils may realise there is a link between all these letter characters.  Ask them to suggest how these persons could be interlinked.  They could also discuss what they think will happen if their characters don't follow the advice they offered them in their answer letter.

This activity will make it possible for the pupils to identify more closely with  the characters of the story and it may be easier for them to relate the subject of the story to their own lives.

Below you find the problem letters which were sent to Maisie Smith.  You can make copies of the letters for classroom use.

Dear Maisie,
I feel so worried these last few weeks.  It's all about Dan, my boyfriend I met last summer.  He used to be so sweet and friendly to me.  But since last month he has hardly phoned me and when I try to make an appointment it never seems to work out.  I'm worried sick now.
What should I do?
WORRIED

Dear Maisie,
I got stuck in a very difficult situation.  There's this girl I met last summer.  I like her very much and she's really fond of me.  However, I've met another girl lately.  She seems to understand me quite well and we get along nicely.  That's why I don't know which of them to choose anymore and above all I don't want to hurt either of them.
Could you get me out of this dilemma?
DESPERATE

Dear Maisie,
A couple of weeks ago I went to a party where I got to know a nice and friendly boy.  We seemed to get on quite well and so we started dating.  He tells me he truly loves me, but on the other hand I get the impression something is bothering him.  When I ask him if he's got something on his mind he pretends everything is alright.
I really wish we could be a happy couple.  But then I should find a possibility to make him talk about what's bothering him.
HELPLESS

Dear Maisie,
I think I'm growing a bit old, because I feel I don't understand my daughter very well anymore. She seems to have some trouble with her boyfriend; but when I try to make things up for them, it turns out I make things even worse.
She prefers not to talk about her problems with me.  On the other hand I hate it to see her pining away.  She has grown thinner lately as well.
How can I help her?
DAD

Dear Maisie,
These last few weeks I find it hard to get on with my husband's teenage daughter.  We used to have such a good relationship.  We acted like real friends: laughing and giggling about stupid things, having our own small secrets,…  But all this seems over now.  She's very much on her own, she gets angry when I try to give her some advice, she tells me not to interfere with what she eats, …  My husband thinks it has something to do with her boyfriend.  But I don't dare to talk about this to her anymore.
Could everything turn out well again?  What do you think?
STEPMOM

Note
WORRIED = Ellie
DESPERATE = Dan
HELPLESS = Gail
DAD = dad
STEPMOM = Anna

Girls under pressure - extract

I hear the car draw up outside the cottage and the slam of doors and lots of voices.

Anna, Dad and Eggs go to the front door. I hang back, trying to look cool.

Dan’s brothers and sisters pour in, wearing hand-knitted old jumpers and baggy dungarees. There are far more than I remembered — some have got friends with them. It’s a good job Anna did her Spar trek. Then Dan’s mum and dad come in and they’re wearing matching sheep sweaters and jeans that go in and out in all the wrong places. They’ve got friends too — a man with yet another jolly jumper (manic woolly frogs) and smelly old cords, and a droopy woman in a patchwork waistcoat and an Indian skirt with an uneven hem.

Then another stranger comes in. A girl about my age. Another refugee from the Style Police. She’s wearing a man’s rugby shirt and saggy tracksuit bottoms. There’s a lot of bottom7 in the bottoms7. She’s not exactly fat —just big all over, and brawny with it. There are serious muscles under those stripes. She’s got long hair that looks even frizzier than mine but it’s scraped back in a schoolgirly plait so tight it’s making her forehead pulse. She smiles.

‘Hi there, folks.’

Oh, God. She’s even heartier than I thought. Who is she?

‘I’m Gail,’ she says, waggling her fat fingers. ‘I’m Dan’s friend.’

I stare at her. The whole room goes suddenly quiet. Waiting. Dan himself makes his entrance. He trips over the doormat, staggers dramatically, and is about to go headlong but Gail catches his arm and yanks him upright.

‘Whoops!’ she says.

‘Whoops indeed,’ Dad mutters, suddenly by my side. ‘Hey Ellie, what are you drinking, sweetheart? Coke? Orange juice? Tiny drop of wine?’
He is being sweetly supportive, even offering me a chance to drown my sorrows.

‘Ellie, can you pass round some of the plates? Ellie did all the food. Hasn’t she done it artistically?’ says Anna, forcing everyone in the room to nod admiringly.
Dan is standing still, red in the face, but his eyes are gleaming behind his steamed-up glasses. His severe crewcut has grown into a strange scrubbing brush that defies gravity. Gail grins and ruffles his bristles affectionately.

‘Honestly, Danny, you are a fool.’

Dan certainly looks a fool. He’s wearing a man’s rugby shirt too. The shoulders droop at his elbows, the hem flaps round his knees. It is sadly obvious that this is a virgin rugby shirt that has never seen action on a muddy field. Perhaps Gail has another kind of action in mind. She can hardly keep her hands off him.

Eggs does his best to elbow her out of the way.

‘Hi, Dan, hi! It’s me! Eggs!’

‘Hi, Eggs,’ Dan says, and he picks him up and turns him upside down and tickles him.

Eggs squeals and wriggles and kicks. One of his feet catches Gail right in the stomach. Anyone else would double up, but she seems to be made of india rubber.

‘Hey, little sprog! Watch those Kickers!’ she says, and she takes him from Dan and shakes him.

It’s good-humoured and if it was Dan Eggs would adore it — but he stiffens instead.

‘Stop it! Put me down! You’ll make me sick!’ he screams.

Gail puts him back on his feet, her eyebrows raised.

‘Hey, calm down! You’re fine,’ she says.

Eggs ignores her. He looks straight at Dan.

‘Who is that girl?’

‘That’s Gail. She’s my friend,’ says Dan.

‘Do you mean your girlfriend?’

‘Hey, hey, Eggs, that’s enough,’ says Anna. ‘Come over here.’ She can’t remove him physically because she’s balancing three platefuls of food and her hands are working overtime as it is.

Dan shuffles in his plimsolls. Gail is nowhere near as reticent.

‘Sure, I’m Dan’s girlfriend,’ she announces.

‘No, you’re not,’ Eggs says, outraged. ‘Ellie’s Dan’s girlfriend, not you.’

‘Shut up, Eggs,’ I say, backing against the wall.

Eggs won’t shut up.

‘Why can’t Ellie still be your girlfriend? She’s much nicer,’ Eggs insists.

‘Button it, Eggs’, says Dad, and he whisks him up and takes him upstairs.

Eggs remains unbuttoned, shrieking as he goes. There’s a terrible silence downstairs.

Oh God. Everyone’s trying very hard indeed to pretend I’m not here.

‘Who’d like a vol-au-vent?’ Anna says desperately.

‘I’ll fetch some more,’ I gabble and rush out to the kitchen.

I lean against the sink and pour myself a glass of water. I gulp it, trying to calm down.

‘Ellie?’

I splutter. Dan has followed me into the kitchen.
‘Are you OK?’

I’ve got water dribbling out of my nose and he asks me if I’m OK! Dan thumps me hard on the back.

‘Hey! Don’t!’

‘Sorry, sorry, I just thought you might be choking.’

‘Well I’m not. And it should be me thumping you. Not the other way round.’

‘Oh I’m sorry, Ellie. I didn’t know what to do. I thought I’d just sort of fade out of the picture. It would be easier for everyone, right? I thought you’d maybe sussed things out already, and anyway, it was always me crazy about you, not the other way round.
I thought we’d maybe not even meet up — but then your dad invited us all, and my dad said it would look ever so rude if Gail and I didn’t come too. I felt awful. I mean, it wasn’t like I was trying to flaunt Gail in front of you. Even though I’m so crackers about her now you’re still my first girlfriend and — and — and I know I should have told you about her but I kept putting it off and –‘

‘Dan. Stop burbling. It’s not like we were ever a real item. It’s no big deal. Honestly.’

Am I just saying this or do I really mean it? Dan is a good mate but I was mad to think I could ever nurse a grand passion for him. Or a weeny passion. Or any passion at all.

If Gail was a slender stylish sort of girl then I’d feel horrible. But she’s like a cartoon version of me — only even fatter. Built like a tank, in fact. With the same knack of squashing people flat. She comes bounding into the kitchen even though it’s obvious Dan and I need five minutes together to sort things out in private.

‘No hard feelings, eh, Ellie?’ she says, clapping me on the shoulder.

I’ll have a large bruise there tomorrow.

She insists on telling me this long and totally dreary tale of how they met. She was part of a girls’ rugby team playing a match at Dan’s school and he provided the oranges at half time. Oh please, is this romance? Then they saw each other on a bus and Dan was just bowled over. Apparently. Anyway, what do I care?

I really don’t care. And yet. . . even though Dan is such a totally sad case it feels a bit weird not to have anyone at all now. I originally invented a relationship between us just to kid on to Magda and Nadine that I had a proper boyfriend at long last. After they found out I went through a stage of thinking maybe Dan could still be a boyfriend. He looks a complete idiot and acts like it too but he can be bright and funny and inventive. Occasionally. And he always had this one redeeming feature. He treated me like I was Juliet and he was Romeo.

Only now it turns out I was just his Rosaline. Gail is Juliet. They’re acting out their major love scene right in front of my eyes. They’re hardly Leonardo di Caprio and Claire Danes, granted. But when they look into each other’s eyes and laugh it’s as if they’re in a little world of their own. And everyone crammed into our mouldy cottage belongs to someone else and I suddenly feel so lonely, because I’m on my own and I haven’t got anyone — not even Dan.

There’s one good thing. I feel so out of it that I don’t even feel hungry. I pass plates of food round and round the room and I hand out glass after glass of drinks but the only thing I have all evening is water from the tap. No calories at all.

Anna dodges out to the kitchen and comes up to me.

‘I think you’re being marvellous, Ellie.’

‘It’s just as well you don’t still think I’m pregnant,’ I say. ‘Oh Anna, imagine Dan being a dad. He’d wrap a nappy round its head and tie a bib on its bottom.’

Anna and I laugh, all girls together. Half an hour later I see Dad hold up this corny bunch of mistletoe and they kiss like love’s young dream. I feel so lonely again. So totally out of it that the social smile stiffens on my face and tears prick my eyes.

I know what I want to do. I want to phone my girlfriends. But the phone is in the living room and all these people are milling about talking and kids are dashing around all over the place and it’s simply not possible.

‘Ellie?’ Dad leaves Anna and comes over to me. ‘Ellie, are you all right?’

‘No. I’m all wrong.’

Dad drops the mistletoe onto the carpet.

‘I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I’m an idiot. What can I do to make it up to you?’

‘Make them all vanish so I can phone Nadine and Magda.’

‘Mmm. I’ll try,’ he says. He wiggles his nose, shuts his eyes, and mumbles, ‘Hocus pocus, Gobbledegook, Please disappear when I next have a look.’

‘Er . . . it hasn’t worked, Dad.’

‘True. Do you really badly want to phone Magda and Nadine?’

‘Yes. But I can’t. Not in front of everyone.’

‘Well, I’m Father Christmas, right? So shove a coat on and come and have a ride on my sleigh.’

Dad takes my hand and we slip out of the house. He drives me down to the village, parks outside the public phone box, and presents me with his own phone card.

‘Oh, Dad! Hey, you’re my Father Christmas.’

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - worksheets

It all starts when Christopher Boone, a boy of 15, discovers something in his neighbour’s garden. Read about it in a first extract.
-	What happened?

-	What do you think would Christopher want to do now?

-	How would you organise an investigation about the incident? What would you do first? Who would you talk to? What questions could you ask?

Christopher starts his own investigation. Read about this in a second extract.

Write down what he gets to know about the people in
1.	number 40:  
2.	number 44:  
3.	number 43:  
4.	number 39:  

Does this information give him a clue to who might have killed Wellington? Why couldn’t he get any?

Your turn now! Try to describe what sort of person could be Wellington’s murderer. Consider questions like: what relationship does that person have with Mrs Shears? What might be his/her motive? Did Wellington know his murderer? Could it be someone from the neighbourhood or not?

Now discuss your suggestions with your neighbour in class.

Christopher too developed some ideas inside his head. Follow his ‘chain of reasoning’ in extract 3.

-	Do you recognize some of your own suggestions in his reasoning? Which ones?

-	Do you think his reasoning makes any sense? Why (not)?

So far we have followed Christopher throughout his investigation of the dog murder. But how have you experienced Christopher as a person? Would you like to be his friend? Does he sometimes act a bit strangely? Illustrate your answer with the texts.

In fact Christopher has Asperger’s Syndrome. That’s why you might find him a bit strange. Look up what this Asperger’s Syndrome is and report about it .

Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time was the first youth novel to win the ’Whitbread Book of the Year’, a prestigious prize  for the best book of the year. 
In the blurb you can read it ‘is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger’s Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.’

‘Exceptional by any standards…’ (Sunday Telegraph), ‘A funny as well as a sad book…BRILLIANT’ (Guardian), ‘OUTSTANDING…A stunningly good read’ (Independent)

Couldn’t this be a book for you to read ??!!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – teacher’s notes

Aims and activities
-	reading for pleasure
-	getting to know an award-winning English teenage novel
-	expressing suggestions
-	comparing suggestions with the text
-	more detailed reading comprehension

It all starts when Christopher Boone, a boy of 15, discovers something in his neighbour’s garden. 

-	What happened?
The dog of Christopher’s neighbour got murdered.

-	What do you think would Christopher want to do now?
He would like to find out who did it.

-	How would you organise an investigation about the incident? What would you do first? Who would you talk to? What questions could you ask?
personal answers

Christopher starts his own investigation. 
Write down what he gets to know about the people in
number 40:  The Thompson family live here. Mr Thompson is not friendly at all, he is rather rude. He doesn’t seem to know anything about the matter.

number 44:  This is the house of a black family (mother, father and two children). The lady of the house wants to be helpful. She knows Wellington, but she hasn’t seen anything suspicious, nor does she have any idea of who might be the murderer.

number 43:  Mr Wise and his mother live in this house. Mr Wise is rather smelly and he laughs at Christopher. He doesn’t help him with his investigation.

number 39:  Mrs Alexander of number 39 would really like to help Christopher. She tries to start a conversation with him; she is very friendly and offers him a drink, cake and biscuits. Christopher doesn’t feel at ease and leaves without a clue to a possible murderer.

Does this information give him a clue to who might have killed Wellington? No
Why couldn’t he get any?
-	His neighbours don’t know anything, they didn’t notice anything on that particular night.
-	Christopher didn’t ask the right questions.
-	…

Your turn now! Try to describe what sort of person could be Wellington’s murderer.  Consider questions like: what relationship does that person have with Mrs Shears? What might be his/her motive? Did Wellington know his murderer? Could it be someone from the neighbourhood or not?
Personal answers

Christopher too developed some ideas inside his head. 
-	Do you recognize some of your own suggestions in his reasoning? Which ones?
Personal answers

-	Do you think his reasoning makes any sense? Why (not)?
Personal answers

So far we have followed Christopher throughout his investigation of the dog murder. But how have you experienced Christopher as a person? Would you like to be his friend? Does he sometimes act a bit strangely? Illustrate your answer with the texts.
Personal answers + he sometimes acts a bit strangely.
Examples: 
-	He is very straightforward, he tells people everything the way it turns up in his mind
-	About certain subjects (e.g. his rat) he knows more details than any other average boy of his age
-	He wants to know so many specific details about the cake that it doesn’t sound normal anymore
-	When talking about his age he is more than specific (15 years, 3 months and 3 days)
-	Social skills: lack of greetings, lack of ‘small talk’, lack of friendliness, politeness (‘thank you’, ‘please’)
-	…

In fact Christopher has Asperger’s Syndrome. That’s why you might find him a bit strange. Look up what this Asperger’s Syndrome is and report about it .

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - extract

It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs Shears' house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The points of the fork must have gone all the way through the dog and into the ground because the fork had not fallen over. I decided that the dog was probably killed with the fork because I could not see any other wounds in the dog and I do not think you would stick a garden fork into a dog after it had died for some other reason, like cancer for example, or a road accident. But I could not be certain about this.
I went through Mrs Shears' gate, closing it behind me. I walked onto her lawn and knelt beside the dog. I put my hand on the muzzle of the dog. It was still warm.
The dog was called Wellington. It belonged to Mrs Shears who was our friend. She lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left.
Wellington was a poodle. Not one of the small poodles that have hairstyles, but a big poodle. It had curly black fur, but when you got close you could see that the skin underneath the fur was a very pale yellow, like chicken.
I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why.

* * *

So talking to the other people in our street was brave. But if you are going to do detective work you have to be brave, so I had no choice.
First of all I made a plan of our part of the street which is called Randolph Street, like this

Then I made sure I had my Swiss Army Knife in my pocket and I went out and I knocked on the door of number 40 which is opposite Mrs Shears' house which means that they were most likely to have seen something. The people who live at number 40 are called Thompson.
Mr Thompson answered the door. He was wearing a T-shirt which said

Beer.
Helping ugly people 
have sex for 
2,000 years.

Mr Thompson said, 'Can I help you?'
I said, 'Do you know who killed Wellington?'
I did not look at his face. I do not like looking at people's faces, especially if they are strangers. He did not say anything for a few seconds.
Then he said, 'Who are you?'
I said, 'I'm Christopher Boone from number 36 and I know you. You're Mr Thompson.'
He said, 'I'm Mr Thompson's brother.'
I said, 'Do you know who killed Wellington?'
He said, 'Who the fuck is Wellington?'
I said, 'Mrs Shears' dog. Mrs Shears is from number 41.'
He said, 'Someone killed her dog?'
I said, 'With a fork.'
He said, 'Jesus Christ.'
I said, 'A garden fork,' in case he thought I meant a fork you eat your food with. Then I said, 'Do you know who killed him?'
He said, 'I haven't a bloody clue.'
I said, 'Did you see anything suspicious on Thursday evening?'
He said, look, son, do you really think you should be going around asking questions like this?'
And I said, 'Yes, because I want to find out who killed Wellington, and I am writing a book about it.'
And he said, 'Well, I was in Colchester on Thursday, so you're asking the wrong bloke.'
I said, Thank you,' and I walked away.
There was no answer at house number 42.
I had seen the people who lived at number 44, but I did not know what their names were. They were black people and they were a man and a lady with two children, a boy and a girl. The lady answered the door. She was wearing boots which looked like army boots and there were 5 bracelets made out of a silver-coloured metal on her wrist and they made a jangling noise. She said, 'It's Christopher, isn't it?'
I said that it was, and I asked her if she knew who killed Wellington. She knew who Wellington was so I didn't have to explain, and she had heard about him being killed.
I asked if she had seen anything suspicious on Thursday evening which might be a clue.
She said, 'Like what?'
And I said, 'Like strangers. Or like the sound of people arguing.'
But she said she hadn't.
And then I decided to do what is called Trying a Different Tack  and I asked her whether she knew of anyone who might want to make Mrs Shears sad.
And she said, 'Perhaps you should be talking to your father about this.'
And I explained that I couldn't ask my father because investigation was a secret because he had told me to stay out of other people's business.
She said, 'Well, maybe he has a point, Christopher.'
And I said, 'So, you don't know anything which might be a clue.’
And she said, 'No,' and then she said, 'You be careful, young man.'
I said that I would be careful and then I said thank you to her for helping me with my questions and I went to number 43 which is the house next to Mrs Shears' house.
The people who live at number 43 are Mr Wise and Mr Wise’s mother who is in a wheelchair which is why he lives with her so he can take her to the shops and drive her around.
It was Mr Wise who answered the door. He smelt of body odour and old biscuits and of popcorn which is what you smell if you haven't washed for a very long time, like Jason at school smells because his family is poor.
I asked Mr Wise if he knew who had killed Wellington on Thursday night.
He said, 'Bloody hell, policemen really are getting younger, aren't they?'
Then he laughed. I do not like people laughing at me, so I turned and walked away.
I did not knock at the door of number 38 which is the house next to our house because the people there take drugs and Father says that I should never talk to them, so I don't. And they play loud music at night and they make me scared sometimes when I see them in the street. And it is not really their house.
Then I noticed that the old lady who lives at number 39, which is on the other side of Mrs Shears' house, was in her front garden, cutting her hedge with an electric hedge-trimmer. Her name is Mrs Alexander. She has a dog. It is a Dachshund, so she was probably a good person because she liked dogs. But the dog wasn't in the garden with her. It was inside the house.
Mrs Alexander was wearing jeans and training shoes which old people don't normally wear. And there was mud on the jeans. And the trainers were New Balance trainers. And the laces were red.
I went up to Mrs Alexander and said, 'Do you know anything about Wellington being killed?'
Then she turned the electric hedge-trimmer off and said, 'I'm afraid you're going to have to say that again. I'm a little deaf.'
So I said, 'Do you know anything about Wellington being killed?'
And she said, 'I heard about it yesterday. Dreadful. Dreadful.'
I said, 'Do you know who killed him?'
And she said, 'No, I don't.'
I replied, 'Somebody must know because the person who killed Wellington knows that they killed Wellington. Unless they were a mad person and didn't know what they were doing. Or unless they had amnesia.'
And she said, 'Well, I suppose you're probably right.'
I said, 'Thank you for helping me with my investigation.'
And she said, 'You're Christopher, aren't you?'
I said, 'Yes. I live at number 36.'
And she said, 'We haven't talked before, have we?'
I said, 'No. I don't like talking to strangers. But I'm doing detective work.'
And she said, 'I see you every day, going to school.'
I didn't reply to this.
And she said, 'It's very nice of you to come and say hello.'
I didn't reply to this either because Mrs Alexander was doing what is called chatting where people say things to each other which aren't questions and answers and aren't connected.
Then she said, 'Even if it's only because you're doing detective work.'
And I said, Thank you,' again.
And I was about to turn and walk away when she said, 'I have a grandson your age.'
I tried to do chatting by saying, 'My age is 15 years and 3 months and 3 days.'
And she said, 'Well, almost your age.'
Then we said nothing for a little while until she said, 'You don't have a dog, do you?'
And I said, 'No.'
She said, 'You'd probably like a dog, wouldn't you?'
And I said, 'I have a rat.'
And she said, 'A rat?'
And I said, 'He's called Toby.'
And she said, 'Oh.’
And I said, 'Most people don't like rats because they think they carry diseases like bubonic plague. But that's only because they lived in sewers and stowed away on ships coming from foreign countries where there were strange diseases. But rats are very clean. Toby is always washing himself. And you don't have to take him out for walks. I just let him run around my room so that he gets some exercise. And sometimes he sits on my shoulder or hides in my sleeve like it's a burrow. But rats don't live in burrows in nature.'
Mrs Alexander said, 'Do you want to come in for tea?'
And I said, :l don't go into other people's houses.'
And she said, 'Well, maybe I could bring some out here. Do you like lemon squash?'
I replied, 'I only like orange squash.'
And she said, 'Luckily I have some of that as well. And what about Battenberg?'
And I said, 'I don't know because I don't know what Battenberg is.'
She said, 'It's a kind of cake. It has four pink and yellow squares in the middle and it has marzipan icing round the edge.'
And I said, 'Is it a long cake with a square cross-section which is divided into equally sized, alternately coloured squares?'
And she said, 'Yes, I think you could probably describe it like that.'
I said, 'I think I'd like the pink squares but not the yellow squares because I don't like yellow. And I don't know what marzipan is so I don't know whether I'd like that.'
And she said, 'I'm afraid marzipan is yellow, too. Perhaps I should bring out some biscuits instead. Do you like biscuits?'
And I said, 'Yes. Some sorts of biscuits.'
And she said, I’ll get a selection.'
Then she turned and went into the house. She moved very slowly because she was an old lady and she was inside the house for more than 6 minutes and I began to get nervous because I didn't know what she was doing in the house. I didn't know her well enough to know whether she was telling the truth about getting orange squash and Battenberg cake. And I thought she might be ringing the police and then I'd get into much more serious trouble because of the caution.
So I walked away.

* * *

And as I was crossing the street I had a stroke of inspiration about who might have killed Wellington. I was imagining a Chain of Reasoning inside my head which was like this

1. Why would you kill a dog?
a) Because you hated the dog.
b) Because you were mad.
c) Because you wanted to make Mrs Shears upset.

2. I didn't know anyone who hated Wellington, so if it was a) it was probably a stranger.
3. I didn't know any mad people, so if it was b) it was also probably a stranger.
4. Most murders are committed by someone who is known to the victim. In fact, you are most likely to be murdered by a member of your own family on Christmas Day. This is a fact. Wellington was therefore most likely to have been killed by someone known to him.
5. If it was c) I only knew one person who didn't like Mrs Shears, and that was Mr Shears who knew Wellington very well indeed.

This meant that Mr Shears was my Prime Suspect.
Mr Shears used to be married to Mrs Shears and they lived together until two years ago. Then Mr Shears left and didn't come back. This was why Mrs Shears came over and did lots of cooking for us after Mother died, because she didn't have to cook for Mr Shears any more and she didn't have to stay at home and be his wife. And also Father said that she needed company and didn't want to be on her own.
And sometimes Mrs Shears stayed overnight at our house and I liked it when she did because she made things tidy and she arranged the jars and pans and tins in order of their height on the shelves in the kitchen and she always made their labels face outwards and she put the knives and forks and spoons in the correct compartments in the cutlery drawer. But she smoked cigarettes and she said lots of things I didn't understand, e.g. 'I'm going to hit the hay,’ and, 'It's brass monkeys out there,' and, 'Let's rustle up some tucker.' And I didn't like it when she said things like that because I didn't know what she meant.
And I don't know why Mr Shears left Mrs Shears because nobody told me. But when you get married it is because you want to live together and have children, and if you get married in a church you have to promise that you will stay together until death do us part. And if you don't want to live together you have to get divorced and this is because one of you has done sex with somebody else or because you are having arguments and you hate each other and you don't want to live in the same house any more and have children. And Mr Shears didn't want to live in the same house as Mrs Shears any more so he probably hated her and he might have come back and killed her dog to make her sad.
I decided to try and find out more about Mr Shears.

Tim Bowler, Shadows – worksheets and extract

'I know you think this is hard.  But you're not going to get where you want to go without making some sacrifices. You'll thank me for this one day.'

Has anybody ever said words like these to you? Who? In what context? Could you appreciate it? Why (not)? Have these words helped you to achieve something?

In fact, these are the exact words of Jamie's father in Tim Bowler's novel Shadows.
Jamie's dad wants him to be a squash champion. One day they go to the fitness centre of Greg Mason. There they meet Danny and his father Bob Powell. They don't like each other very much as Danny has come to live in Jamie's town recently and turned out to be a real competitor for Jamie.

Read the extract and try to found out more about the relationships between these characters.

1.	Can you illustrate that Jamie and Danny and their respective fathers don't like each other?

2.	Does Jamie enjoy the training and exercises? How do you know?

3.	Your previous answer has already revealed a lot about the relation between Jamie and his father. Can you describe it in your own words?

4.	How would you react in such a situation?
Shadows -extract

Whatever the reason, it was no coincidence that Jamie's gym sessions were scheduled at different times to Danny's. It was rare for them to meet here.
But today was to be one of those occasions. To his dismay, he found Danny and Bob standing in the entrance, talking to Greg. Dad nodded to Powell and they exchanged the briskest of courtesies.
'Bob.'
'Ron.'
Greg was not favoured with a word of greeting, but Dad always acted strangely with people who weren’t  intimidated by him. Jamie caught Danny's eye. Neither spoke.
Dad turned round.
'Right, Jamie. Go and get changed.'
He hurried to the changing room, glad to be free of the tension for a moment, but Danny soon appeared, and the two boys started changing. He wondered whether he should try and say something. But Danny did not speak and, as the minutes passed, the silence seemed only to deepen.
Danny finished changing first and walked through to the weights room. Jamie took his time, glad to be alone for a moment, then, unable to put things off any longer, made his way through as well.
Surprisingly, there were no other members there. Dad was standing stiffly to one side of the room, Powell equally stiffly on the other. He went through the warm up, secretly watching Danny doing the same, then made his way over to the exercise bike. Danny was already astride the other bike but hadn't started yet as Greg was adjusting the settings.
Dad came over.
'Right, Jamie. On you go.'
Jamie climbed on the bike and glanced to his right. But Danny was staring straight ahead. Greg straightened up and looked at Danny.
'Right, try it on that setting but don't push it. It's more than you've been doing. If you find it a struggle, put it back on the old setting.'
'OK,' said Danny.
'Good boy. How are you doing, Jamie?'
'Fine.' Jamie wished the others would go away and leave him to train in peace. And he wished Danny weren’t here. He started to adjust the setting on his own bike.
But Dad leaned forward. 'I’ll do it.'
Jamie gasped as he saw his father raise the setting to the same level as Danny's.
He looked away, unsure what to do. Greg would have prepared Danny for this setting but Jamie wasn't ready for it, and he knew it. Ever since Dad had discarded Greg's services and taken over the weight training himself, things bad been far less systematic.
He had to resist this. But now here was Powell getting involved.
'Right, boys. Let's see who's got the gas!'
Danny made to start pedalling and instinctively Jamie found himself doing the same. But Greg reached out a hand to each of them and they stopped.
'You,' he said, looking at Danny, 'are here to train, not compete.' He turned to Powell. 'And you're here to watch, not egg him on. Save the rivalry for the squash court.' His eyes fixed on Jamie. 'And you're not ready for this setting.' He leaned across to adjust it.
Dad reached forward and stopped him.
'Leave it. He's managed that setting before. He’s used to it.'
'He's not ready.'
'He is. Ask him yourself.'
Jamie felt Greg's eyes burn into him. But his father's eyes burned deeper still. And in spite of himself, the answer stuttered out.
‘It’s … it’s fine. I’m … I’m OK with it.’
Greg looked at him hard.
'Jamie, people who come to my gym do things right or they don't do them at all. They're out.' He paused. 'You can try that setting for a bit, but if it's too much, you stop and lower it. Is that clear?'
'Yes.'
Dad tapped Greg on the shoulder .
'I told you. He's fine on this setting. There's no need to interfere. We know what we're doing.'
Greg looked round.
'lf someone's doing something wrong in my gym, I’ll tell them about it. If they take no notice, then they're out. Simple as that. I don't have room for lawsuits with people who hurt themselves because they ignore my advice.'
Dad stiffened. 'Jamie's training under my direction. Any mistakes will be my responsibility .'
Greg narrowed his eyes. 'They certainly will be.'
He nodded to Jamie and Danny. I’ll be keeping an eye on the pair of you.' He glanced at Dad and Powell, and Jamie sensed that the words applied just as much to them.
Stephanie appeared at the door. 'Greg. Phone.'
'AII right. I'm coming.'
And, with a last look round, he hurried out.
'Thank God for that,' muttered Dad.
Powell looked at him and Jamie detected an ominous agreement between them, though no words were spoken. Dad turned back to Jamie.
'Right, get started. ' Then he leaned forward and whispered. 'And I don't want Danny upstaging you. You don't stop before he does. Understand?'
Jamie stared down at the floor, wishing he could climb off and run away from all this. But be heard Danny start pedalling and before he knew what was happening, he was pedalling, too.
At once he felt the resistance of the higher setting and he knew at once that he would not be able to keep going long. Danny was driving the pedals hard, and as Jamie struggled to do the same, he became aware of Powell and his father moving closer. 
 Watching.
Soon the strain in his legs was starting to tell. He lowered his head and forced himself to drive his legs down, down, down. Already he yearned to stop, and  they had only been going a short time. 
Danny must be hurting, too. He surely couldn't keep this up either. But the whirr of the pedals went on next to him. Then the talking started. Dad first.
'Come on, boy, don't ease up.'
And Powell.
'Go on, Danny, go on.'
Jamie scowled at the two men. They just couldn’t resist, despite what Greg had said. He wondered what Danny was feeling and whether he, too, wanted to make a contest out of this. He looked at Danny and the glance that came back told him all. 
It was war. 
 'Push it, Jamie!'
'Come on, Danny!'
He noticed, with contempt, that both men were keeping their voices low so as not to attract Greg. Powell started to pace up and down in front of the bikes.
'Come on, Danny. He's weakening.' 
Dad looked round at him in disgust. 
'Weakening? Are you out of your mind? Danny's the one who's slowing down. Look, he's trying to save energy by not pedalling so hard.' 
Danny shot him a venomous glance and put on speed.
 Powell scoffed.
'That's rubbish. Your boy's the one who's slowing down. Look at him. He's knackered.'
'He'll outlast your boy.'
'No way.'
'Fifty quid?'
'Done.'
Jamie stared at his father in disbelief. But Dad's eyes merely grew fiercer.
'Go on, Jamie. Give it your best.'
Powell laughed.
'If that's the best he's got, it won't take him very far.
'Shut your mouth,' said Dad.
But Powell only laughed again.
Jamie dipped his head and tried to focus on the pedals. But his thoughts were confused now. They told him to stop because this was wrong. They told him not to stop because of what Dad would do to him if he lost.
But he was losing. He knew it.
He stole a glance to the side. Danny showed no signs of weakening and, if anything, seemed boosted by the element of competition. His mouth was open, gulping air, the sweat was vivid on his face; but he was clearly determined not to stop first.
If only Greg would come back. But there was still no sign of him.
The pain was almost unendurable now. He knew his face betrayed it. Like Danny, he was gulping in air but, unlike Danny, he was showing all his despair. Powell watched him for a few moments with an air of satisfaction, then threw a triumphant glance at Dad.
'Make it cash.'
Dad's answer came straight back, low and dangerous. 'Raise it.'
Powell stared at him. ' Are you out of your mind?' 'Raise it. Unless you're scared to.'
'For Christ's sake, just look at the kid. He's keeling over.'
Dad paused for a moment.
' A hundred,' he said, still not looking at Powell.
'You're crazy.'
'A hundred.'
'Look, I'm not doing this. I don't need your money that much.'
'So you are scared. I always knew you were.'
Jamie broke in, despite his exhaustion.
‘Listen … I …’
 Both men looked at him, and Danny, too, though he kept on pedalling. Jamie stared into his father's eyes and saw only a dark, unyielding obsession. And he could say no more.
Powell spoke again. 'I'm not raising the stakes. It's taking candy from a baby.'
Dad snorted. 'There's only one baby round here. And it's not Jamie.'
Powell's face darkened at once. 'AII right. A hundred quid. And I'II see you damned.'
'Done. Excuse me if I don't shake hands.'
The two men turned back to the bikes.
But the contest was already over.
Jamie was faIIing. He remembered hearing them closing the bet and turning to look at him. He remembered the terror of not being able to breathe, of feeling his legs numb and useless, his wiII spent, his balance gone. He remembered the floor, waIIs, ceiling slipping out of alignment, the handlebars moving closer. He remembered Greg running forward.
He remembered Dad's face.
Then nothing more.

				from Tim Bowler, Shadows, Oxford University Press, 1999.

The pressure Jamie is under from his father makes him run away from home. He also knows he has to help a girl he found hidden away, all on her own. For her sake he borrows a big amount of money from his best friend, Spider.
After having gone through a lot of emotional events Jamie's dad tries to come to terms with his son. Reading Jamie's diary has explained a lot to him. In the end Jamie returns back home and they are together in the sitting room. They felt 'they had to build something on the ruins of what was left'.
Work in pairs and complete the dialogue between Jamie and his father in a plausible way. 

Dad:	Do you want something to eat?
Jamie: …
	…
Dad:	Sit down, Jamie. I don't really know where we go from here.  You're mixed up. I'm mixed up. I've… I've read what you said about me. I… I suppose I must deserve it. I've always wanted the best for you. I've tried to give you the advantages I never had and push you, and …
I meant the best, Jamie. I meant the best but I've… I've made mistakes. And, my God, they've cost me dear.
Jamie: …
…
Dad:	Don't. I'll be all right. I'm more concerned about… getting you right again. I'm a fighter. I'll always pull through somehow. But …
Jamie : …
	…
Dad:	Yes, Jamie, I know you are.
	Can you tell me where you went?
Jamie: …
	…

Dad:	You don't have to tell me. I'm not going to push you. Just as long as you didn't get into any trouble.
Jamie: …
	…
	…
Dad:	It's all right. I won't tell anybody! I won't tell him or his parents that I know. If he helped you like that, and it was for a good cause, like you say, then I admire him for it. I've obviously been wrong about him, like I have about everything else. How much do you owe him?
Jamie: …
	…
Dad:	Well, whatever it is, I'll give you the money and you can pay him back. You don't have to tell him you inherited it or something or …
	I'm sorry, Jamie. I seem to have done so much wrong. I just … hope I can put some of it right.
Jamie: …
	…
Now listen to the original version of this dialogue.

1.	Were your suggestions for Jamie's answers 'right'? Where do they differ? Why had you thought of this answer?
2.	Do we see a different father of Jamie in this extract? How could you characterise him now?

Find out more about Jamie and all the events and emotions he went through by reading Tim Bowler's fascinating youth novel Shadows. The following comments may induce you to look for it as soon as possible:

'This adventurous tale had me turning pages at a rate of knots. It is exciting and sensational. It is moving and caring.'
(Books for Keeps)

'Tim Bowler scores again with another winning story, Shadows… A real page turner for young adults.'
(Lisa Bruce - The Bookseller)

'Lots of pace, action and a couple of shocking twists!'
(The Young Telegraph)

'… the writing is tight and sharp throughout, and Tim Bowler skilfully uses the context of squash-playing to explore family relationships, friendships, and the need to face up to our fears.'
(School Library Association)

Shadows – teacher’s notes

Aims and activities

-	reading for pleasure: enjoying an extract from a modern novel for young people, motivating the pupils to read the whole book
-	finding out about relationships between people
-	writing: completing a dialogue about relations
-	listening for the gist; comparing the pupils' suggested answers with the original dialogue

Key
5.	Can you illustrate that Jamie and Danny and their respective fathers don't like each other?
Their gym sessions are scheduled at different times, they exchanged only 'the briskest of courtesies', Jamie hurried to the changing room glad to be free of the tension for a moment, Danny and Jamie don't speak to each other in the changing room, their fathers put on a competition between the boys, 'he looked at Danny and the glance that came back told him all. It was war', both fathers are pushing their sons too much, both fathers even challenge each other and their sons, both fathers bet on the outcome of the 'contest' between their sons and by doing so don't take into account the health of their boys anymore.

6.	Does Jamie enjoy the training and exercises? How do you know?
No.
'Jamie took his time, glad to be alone for a moment, then, unable to put things off any longer, made his way through as well.'
'Jamie felt Greg's eyes burn into him. But his father's eyes burned deeper still. And in spite of himself, the answer stuttered out. 'It's … it's fine. I'm … I'm OK with it.''
'Jamie stared down at the floor, wishing he could climb off and run away from all this.'
'He noticed, with contempt, that both men were keeping their voices low so as not to attract Greg.'
'But his thoughts were confused now. They told him to stop because this was wrong. They told him not to stop because of what Dad would do to him if he lost.'
'The pain was almost endurable now. He knew his face betrayed it.'
'Jamie broke in, despite his exhaustion. 'Listen … I …' Both men looked at him, and Danny, too, though he kept on pedalling. Jamie stared into his father's eyes and saw only a dark, unyielding obsession. And he could say no more.'

7.	Your previous answer has already revealed a lot about the relation between Jamie and his father. Can you describe it in your own words?
Father wants to make Jamie a winner, a squash champion.
Jamie seems to be frightened of his father. Some lines suggest he punishes Jamie when he's not performing well.
Jamie doesn't dare to resist his father.
Being a winner doesn't seem to be Jamie's own choice. His father forces him to do all the training and exercises.

8.	Personal answer of the pupils.

Completing the dialogue between Jamie and his dad:
personal answers of the pupils.
You could have some pairs read their version and compare and discuss versions.

After listening: personal answer of the pupils.

1.	Jamie's father is a broken man.  He wants to make up things for Jamie. He realises he made many mistakes. He is prepared to be more open to his son and not to push him anymore. From now on he will leave Jamie to make his own decisions. Now he knows he misjudged a number of people and wants to put this straight when possible. He stays a fighter: he is convinced he will find a way out for himself, but he is more concerned about others, like Jamie, now.

Teenage Fiction: List of books that can be used in EFL

ALLEN-GRAY, Alison, Unique, Oxford University Press, 2004.

ALMOND, David, Skellig, Hodder, London, 1998. 
		The Fire Eaters, Hodder, London, 2003.
		[Winner of the 2003 Whitbread Children’s Book Award]

BOWLER, Tim, River Boy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999.
		[Winner of the Carnegie Medal 1998]
		Shadows, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001.
		Starseeker, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002.

BROWNE, N.M, Hunted, Bloomsbury, London, 2002.

BURGESS, Melvin, Junk, Penguin, London, 1997.
		[Winner of the Carnegie Medal]
		Bloodtide, Puffin, London, 2001.
		My Life As a Bitch ,Penguin Books, London, 2003. 
		[has a ‘Parental Advisory Explicit Content’- sticker]
		Bloodsong, Andersen Press, 2005.

CHAMBERS, Aidan, Dance on My Grave, Random House, London, 1982.

COLFER , Eoin, Artemis Fowl, Puffin Books, London, 2002.
		 
COPPARD, Yvonne, Bully, Red Fox, London, 1991.

CORMIER, Robert, I Am the Cheese, London, Lion Tracks, 1977.
We All Fall Down, London, Lion Tracks, 1993.

CROSS, Gillian, Calling a Dead Man, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002.

CROSSLEY - HOLLAND, Kevin, The Seeing Stone. Arthur, Orion, London, 2000.			[winner of The Guardian Children’s Fiction Award. This is the first part in the 
		Arthur trilogy] 

DHAMI, Narinder, Bend It Like Beckman, Hodder Children’s Books, 2002.

FISHER, Catherine, Corbenic, Random House, London, 2002.

FORDE, Catherine, The Drowning Pond, Egmont Books, 2005.

FLAKE, Sharon G., The Skin I’m In, Corgi Books, London, 2001.

GAVIN, Jamila, Coram Boy, Egmont Books Ltd, London, 2001.

HADDON, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Vintage, London, 2004.
		[winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year]

HEARN, Lian, Across the Nightingale Floor, Macmillan, London, 2002.

HOROWITZ, Anthony, Scorpia, Walker Books, London, 2004.

KAY, Jackie, Strawgirl, Macmillan, London, 2002.

KLASS, David, You Don’t Know Me, London, Penguin, 2002.
		The Braves, London, Penguin, 2003.

KLEIN, Rachel, The Moth Diaries, Faber and Faber, London, 2004.

MAGORIAN, Michelle, Goodnight Mister Tom, Puffin Books, London, 1983.
		A Little Love Song, Mammoth, London, 1993.

MARK, Jan, Handles, Puffin, London, 1985.
		Heathrow Nights, Hodder, London, 2000.
		The Lady with Iron Bones, Walker Books, London, 2000.
		The Oxford Book of Children’s Stories, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001.
		The Stratford Boys, Hodder, London, 2003.

McCAUGHREAN, Geraldine, Golden Myths and Legends of the World, Orion Children’s Books, London, 1999.

NAIDOO, Beverley, The Other Side of Truth,  Puffin Books, London, 2000.
		[winner of the Carnegie Medal]

NICHOLSON, William, The Wind Singer, Hyperion Press, London, 2001.
[Winner of the ‘The Book I Couldn’t Put Down’ and Blue Peter 2001 ‘Book of the Year’ Awards]
Slaves of the Mastery, Egmont Books, London, 2002.
Firesong, Egmont Books, London, 2003.

PEET, Mal, Keeper, Walker Books, London, 2003.

PRICE, Susan, The Sterkarm Handshake, Scholastic, London, 1998.

PRUE, Sally, Cold Tom, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002.

PULLMAN, Philip, The Broken Bridge, Macmillan, London, 1998.
Northern Lights, Scholastic, London, 1996.
		[Winner of the Carnegie Medal]
		The Subtle Knife, Scholastic, London, 1998.
		The Amber Spyglass, Scholastic, London, 2000.
		[Winner of the prestigious Whitbread Award 2002]
		[the so-called Dark Materials Trilogy]

RAI, Bali, (Un)arranged Marriage, Corgi Books, London, 2001.

REES, Celia, Truth or Dare, Macmillan, London, 2000.
Witch Child, Bloomsbury, London, 2001.
		Sorceress, Bloomsbury, London, 2002.

ROSOFF, Meg, How I Live Now, Penguin, London, 2004.

ROWLING, J.K., Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Bloomsbury, London, 1997.
		[Winner of the 1997 Smarties Gold Award]
		Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Bloomsbury, London, 1999.

SEDGWICK, Marcus, The Foreshadowing, Orion Children’s, London, 2005.

SPINELLI, Jerry, Stargirl, Orchard Books, 2002.

SWINDELLS, Robert, Brother in the Land, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998.
		Stone Cold, Puffin Books, London, 1995.
		No Angels, Puffin Books, London, 2003.

WHITE, Kirsty, Will He Love Me If I’m Thin, Scholastic, London, 1998. 

WILSON, Jacqueline, Girls under Pressure, Corgi Books, London, 1999.
		The Illustrated Mum, Yearling Books, London, 2000.
		Girls in Love, Corgi Books, London, 2003.
		[3-books-in-1]
		Lola Rose, Corgi, London, 2003.

WYNNE JONES, Diana, Charmed Life, Collins, London, 2000.
		Witch Week, Collins, London, 2000.
		[advertised as ‘Hotter than Potter!’]

						list compiled by Johan Strobbe, September 2005.