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Cloud BustingMalorie Blackman

Cloud Busting

by Malorie Blackman

Ages 9–12 Reading age 9 Novel Set in school movingthoughtful

Sam joined in with the others who tormented the odd new boy, and tells the whole story afterwards, in verse.

A story about children, moving and thoughtful in tone. We would put it with children of 9–12, and at a reading age of about 9 for reading alone.

Our take on this book

Sam is horrible to the new boy, Davey — an odd, cheerful child who talks to clouds and refuses to be anything but kind back — and this novel, told entirely in verse, is Sam's reckoning with what his cruelty cost once it is too late to take it back. Malorie Blackman does something bold here: a whole story in different poetic forms, which makes it quick to read but emotionally weighty, and gives it to a reader who might balk at a dense prose novel. It is a book about bullying seen from the bully's side, about guilt and friendship and consequences, moving without ever becoming heavy-handed. There is no violence, but the emotional territory is real. For a nine- to twelve-year-old it is a short, powerful, unusual read that lingers, and its verse form makes it a surprisingly accessible way into a serious subject — often a favourite with readers who discover they like poetry after all.

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