Bite
4 total works
The year they turn sixteen, twins Josh and Rachel have the best summer holiday ever! Camping, swimming, diving off rocks, and meeting new friends their age. Everything is perfect! But then Josh falls in love with a girl called Charlie, and what should have been a holiday romance turns into something heavy. Josh has always been attracted to danger, and Charlie seems just the same, but after the holiday has ended he is faced with his biggest challenge yet: Charlie is pregnant with his baby. Rachel is keen to support her twin - they've always been there for each other! But Josh doesn't want to know - he ignores Charlie, and their unborn baby and instead launches himself into sport - the faster and more dangerous the better! But slowly Rachel helps Josh to face up to his responsibilties and stop running away. It's not a perfect ending, but when the baby is born, Josh has turned a corner in his life. And there's no going back ...
Recently dumped by Jamie, her arrrogant boyfriend, Isabel Bright hopes to take her mind off things on a family holiday on the West Coast of Scotland. But the bleak scenery only makes her feel miserable and bored, and one day, messing about on an empty beach she and her sister, Al, spot an empty bottle. Isabel puts her name and address on a note in the bottle, and stuffs it in the bottle, hurling it far out to sea - not imagining that anyone will find it. Back home, Isabel throws herself into rehearsals for the school play: Shakespeare's The Tempest. As the lead, Miranda, Isabel is horrified to discover that Jamie has been cast as the male lead and he wants to get back with her. Against her better judgement, Isabel relents ...but then she receives a letter from a stranger. Enter Duncan, a 17 year old guy from a Scottish Island, who has found Isabel's message in a bottle. Duncan is funny, friendly and intelligent - and interested in Shakespeare! Isabel and Duncan start writing, then emailing. Bit by bit their lives start to intertwine. Isabel tells herself he's only a friend - probably spotty and geeky! And he lives hundreds of miles away!
Then on the last night of the play, Jamie dumps Isabel again, and Duncan is the first person she wants to call to pour her heart out. But Duncan doesn't answer, his mum does - in a terrible state. Duncan and his dad went fishing and got caught in a violent storm at sea - they haven't come back. Isabel is devastated and keeps an all-night vigil by the phone. When news comes that Duncan is still alive, she throws caution to the wind and jumps on a train to Scotland. But when the two finally meet is it love at first sight?
Then on the last night of the play, Jamie dumps Isabel again, and Duncan is the first person she wants to call to pour her heart out. But Duncan doesn't answer, his mum does - in a terrible state. Duncan and his dad went fishing and got caught in a violent storm at sea - they haven't come back. Isabel is devastated and keeps an all-night vigil by the phone. When news comes that Duncan is still alive, she throws caution to the wind and jumps on a train to Scotland. But when the two finally meet is it love at first sight?
Anna Goldsmith has moved with her family from her posh school in Surrey to a small Yorkshire town and the local comprehensive. Anna worries she won't fit in - she's a bit too brainy and her accent sticks out a mile. But Anna's got everything going for her; she's attractive, sporty and musical, and Hayley Parkin, the most popular girl in her year, wants to be her best friend. So Anna reckons she'll be fine. Except that Hayley - charming and gorgeous with a year round tan - is not all she seems. Soon she's playing power games; freezing Anna out one minute, then nice as pie the next. Anna is totally confused. As the school year progresses, Hayley's behaviour gets more erratic, and the sarcastic remarks get more personal. Anna is sliding into depression and despair. Melanie - her other best friend - tries to understand, but she's caught in the middle, and Hayley's playing games with her, too. Can Mel help Anna before she goes and does something really silly...?
Matt, Becci, Sophie and Nathan are a bit of a foursome, even though Matt and Sophie are a real couple, and Becci only wishes that Nathan would notice she's not just Matt's little sister. They're all looking forward to the themed fancy dress party they're going to, getting in to the Christmas spirit, laughing, drinking...They've got futures, dreams, lives ahead of them...Nothing can spoil their fun tonight. But icy roads and a moment of lost concentration sees their bright futures shake and crumble. For Matt, Becci, Nathan and Sophie, what happens is devastating, not just for them, but for those close tto them, too. A powerful, humane and compelling novel, with a strongly positive message about the strength of the human spirit.