Books published by publisher CollinsFlamingo

Mindblowing novel from multi-awardwinning author, Margaret Mahy.Roland has everything a young man could wish for – good looks, enough money, a cool relationship with his mother, ready wit, intelligence, a sexy girlfriend, a perfect school record. So the fact that he committed a petty crime and that, somehow, one of his teachers knows about it is something he can hardly explain to himself, let alone anyone else.The teacher, Mr Hudson, uses this knowledge to blackmail Roland into befriending the school misfit – Jess Ferret. The reason he gives is concern for her wellbeing, but even Roland finds this rather far-fetched. And when Jess doesn't respond to his confident advances, he becomes intrigued with the girl for his own reasons.Roland discovers Jess's dark secret and also finds that he has one of his own…

Compelling drama in which 17-year-old Ellis comes to terms with the meaning of death…Ellis is an ordinary 17-year-old; someone who’s planning to finish school and go to university like any other teenager. The difference is that four months ago, his best friend Simon killed himself. Still – that was four months ago. Ellis has now ‘got over it’.Except, of course, he hasn’t. Returning to his home town, he gets drawn into a situation in which the ‘old’ Ellis would never have become embrangled. He gatecrashes a party and persuaded to ‘rescue’ two sisters – Ursa and Leo, driving them back to the Land of Smiles – the ex-motel where they live.From that moment on, nothing is the same again. The story is narrated hour-by-hour, as Ellis packs a life-time of experiences into the next twenty-four hours. Giving in to high spirits and booze, Ellis wakes next morning in a strange bed, with a stonking hangover and a shaven head! He learns that a child has been kidnapped, and is persuaded to help in her rescue…This is a bizarre, surreal and powerful novel in which the reader is taken on the same roller-coaster ride as Ellis.

A compelling account of a boy coming to terms with his brother’s death and his discovery of his own and his brother’s homosexuality.Brothers is a book which is both compelling and intensely moving as it looks at life, death and love in the context of growing up and trying to make sense of it all. It is tender, sensitive and poignant as it deals with the sexual emergence of a teenage boy, trying to come to terms with the death of his brother and, while reading his brother’s diary, discovers not only that his brother was gay, but that he himself is also. As a story of two brothers, it is both thought provoking and intriguing. The reader is engaged instantly through its intimate narrative diary format. This is indeed an exceptional book.

Mesmerising, moving novel from an exceptional author about one girl’s struggle to cope after being wrongly admitted to a boot-camp-style rehabilitation centre. A powerful and page-turning read.Justine is trying to cope with the desperate loneliness she feels now her twin brother, Joshua, no longer lives at home. After trying to drown her feelings with her first ever experiment with alcohol, she is woken early by her mother one Sunday morning. Bundled into the car by her livid parents, Justine is driven to Come Clean, a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts and alcoholics. Confused, vulnerable and covered with vomit from her first hangover, Justine is forcibly admitted to cure her “addiction”.There she begins a strict boot-camp routine of humiliation and discipline, where they attempt to strip her of her identity in order to rebuild her a better person. Justine escapes the daily torture at the centre by talking to Joshua in her head, reflecting back on their childhood and trying to puzzle out why her brother was a tortured soul… and why he chose to leave her.Because of the intensely personal nature of the narrative, this book engages the reader instantly and, however tough the subject matter, it is a real page-turner. At its heart, Come Clean is about a girl's inability to deal her grief and her family’s ignorance of her pain. Justine shows strength, resilience, courage and hope while living a nightmare reality.This is a book which should and will attract controversy, as teenagers and society struggle to identify the problems and the treatment for drug and other teenage addictions.

Disconnected, is a gripping study of teenage pressure and identity. Catherine isn’t sure who she is. The hardworking student? The dutiful daughter? Or someone else entirely? Catherine, Cat, Cath – which is the real person?Catherine is a typical A-grade student from a middle class, high-achieving family, who suddenly, on entering the sixth form, loses her way. She stumbles from one situation to another, unable to work and turning to alcohol to take her mind off her problems. As she searches for answers through the varied and offbeat characters she meets, she learns a great many truths about life. Can she cope with the biggest truth of all – her own personality?Written in the first person, each chapter is addressed to someone different in Catherine’s life – her mother, a teacher, a schoolfriend etc, and reflects how Catherine is different to different people. It brilliantly reflects the pressures on young people today in a world where they haven’t got the time to grow up at their own pace. Is the face we present to the world our true self, or a carefully maintained construct?

Jack Curling tells his life story from 11-15 while sitting in Business Studies GCSE, writing nothing but his number, knowing that this will earn him precisely 0%.Jack is caught in the slipstream of decisions, decisions made without reference to him and what he wants. Can't he run his life on his own terms? He's pretty famous at school – Jack Curling, entrepreneur and wheeler dealer. Surely his dad can see that he's OK doing it his way? It's time to prove a point. The exam is waiting. Can he get precisely 0%?