Two very totally different boys, one new household, a shared wrestle and a giant secret.
Ryan didn’t need a new mum, not to mention a brand new brother! However when his mother and father cut up up and his dad strikes in with Naomi, she comes with Tommy – one 12 months older, chucked out of his old skool and now becoming a member of Ryan’s class. Nice. Abruptly sharing a house and a classroom with an entire stranger is a bit a lot.
Flung collectively, the 2 boys conflict, however step by step realise that they’re extra comparable than they thought.
The twin views of this story have been brilliantly achieved, two distinct and life like voices that wouldn’t have labored individually. I used to be gripped by the story, the way in which the connection between the 2 boys developed, and the relationships with all of the grownups. Tommy’s discovery of a secret (and what that secret was) saved my coronary heart in my mouth for him. Additionally, the dyslexia pleasant font could be very readable!
Malcom Duffy has written a bit in regards to the inspiration behind the story:
All of us face challenges in some unspecified time in the future in our lives. My mother and father divorced once I was a youngster. Many younger individuals face struggles and I prefer to discover these in my tales, how the drama unfolds, how totally different characters react to their issues, the errors they make alongside the way in which, and the options they discover.
My newest teen novel, Learn Between the Lines, is a narrative of dyslexia, drama and deceit. It tells the story of 16 12 months previous Ryan, and 17 12 months previous Tommy, two teenagers who’re from totally different elements of the nation, with totally different backgrounds, and who go to totally different faculties. However they’ve one thing in widespread– they’re each dyslexic. Whereas Ryan has come to phrases along with his dyslexia and is succeeding in school, Tommy is in denial, and received’t search help. Tommy’s situation involves a head when he’s compelled to face his best worry – studying in public. He turns to the one individual he by no means thought he’d ask for assist – Ryan.
The difficulty of lies additionally performs a giant half within the story. We generally attempt to preserve the reality hidden. This may be for a lot of causes – worry, disgrace, embarrassment, stubbornness. However lies can come again to hang-out us. The novel explores how the reality, nonetheless painful, is at all times higher than a lie.
So why did I decide on dyslexia because the theme for my new novel? My teenage daughter, Tallulah, has dyslexia, so I do know first-hand in regards to the points concerned, and the consequences it may possibly have. I even have expertise in screenwriting and was lucky sufficient to be requested to put in writing a brief movie about dyslexia, referred to as Mical. It tells the unimaginable actual life story of Mike and Pat Jones, and the way Pat helped her dyslexic son to learn and write. Mike had been thrown out of assorted faculties for being tough, aggressive, and silly. However his mum knew her son was vivid, and that his behaviour was purely right down to his studying issue. She developed her personal educating methods to assist Mike who went on to be a star pupil. Mike and Pat Jones then arrange the web studying platform for dyslexics referred to as Nessy. The movie may be discovered on YouTube, the place it’s had over 1.7 million views.
I believed dyslexia would make an uncommon topic for a novel, because it’s quite common, however usually misunderstood. Some dyslexics don’t even know they’ve it. And it may possibly have a damaging influence on lives except it’s handled. I carried out plenty of analysis into the topic, with my daughter, different members of the family, in addition to specialists who’ve spent years coping with dyslexia and its influence.
Enormous numbers of younger individuals battle with dyslexia. If left untreated it may possibly result in low shallowness, behaviour issues, nervousness, aggression, withdrawal. Whereas many get the assistance they want from mother and father, faculties, specialists, many others don’t. I’d like dyslexics to understand there’s assist out there, and that dyslexia isn’t any barrier to main a profitable, fulfilling life. I’d like non-dyslexics to be extra understanding of what it means to be dyslexic, to be sort, supportive, understanding.
I hope the ebook can obtain this and provides the reader a narrative that’s in turns, humorous and heart-warming.
Malcolm Duffy
Learn Between the Lies by Malcolm Duffy is out now in hardback from Zephyr
Thanks to Fritha Lindqvist for organising a evaluate copy and to Malcolm for his visitor submit
