Teacher's Dead

Benjamin Zephaniah rides straight through everybody's taboos, everybody's prejudices, everybody's niceties and gets straight to the heart of the matter … Strong, honest, democratic, accessible to all, Teacher's Dead comes highly recommended * The Bookbag's Jill Murphy on TEACHER'S DEAD *
A brilliant first novel * Guardian on FACE *
A lively and positive account of a boy who is badly scarred in a joyriding crash, and how he comes to terms with it ... incredibly well told * Irish Times on FACE *
An impressive debut, carefully researched ... Zephaniah writes wonderfully natural dialogue with the same ease as he spins out rhyming couplets * Herald on FACE *
The playful, obstinate and courageously humorous tone of Zephaniah's writing shines through ... hilarious and later heartbreaking * Alfred Hickling, Guardian on REFUGEE BOY *
Sweet, funny, highly inventive * Yorkshire Post on REFUGEE BOY *
Humour and innocence are both to the fore as is a sweetness of tone ... more street than poetic, and personal yet universal, Refugee Boy is well told by impassioned writer * York Press on REFUGEE BOY *
The authority with which the story is written leaves the reader no choice but to be drawn in – and indeed educated – into the world of gangsta rap, with all the appropriate vocabulary. Not for a long time have I read a book with such a 'pick me up again' factor * Independent on Sunday on GANGSTA RAP *
A fairytale of hip-hop success ... teens will enjoy the thrilling music fantasy, while many will identify with the smart, talented boys who grow up quickly and rescue themselves * Booklist on GANGSTA RAP *