This book is brilliant. It hooks you in with the sarcastic and utterly believable voice of Alix, and then keeps you gripped throughout with a fast-paced story about prejudice, choices and being a teenager.
Alix and her friend Samir find an illegal immigrant drowning off the coast of Hayling Island, where they live. They have to decide what to do with him, knowing that if they take him to the police he will most likely be deported back to Iraq, where he has been tortured by rebels.
The best thing about the book is Alix's narration - I really believed that she was a fourteen year old girl and liked her dry humour. I also liked how she was unthinkingly prejudiced about Samir - when she first goes to his house she wonders if anyone will be making bombs - but not in a malicious way. I thought this was a realistic portrayal of the different levels of racism in society, and it made for quite uncomfortable reading as it makes you recognise your own prejudices.
Would definitely recommend this book - it challenges the way you think and confronts attitudes about asylum seekers, but most importantly it is a good story with believable, and some very likeable, characters. Looking forward to the next two in the cycle!