When I Was Joe

“It’s one thing watching someone get killed. It’s quite another talking about it.”
But Ty does talk about it. He names some ruthless people and a petrol-bomb attack forces him and his mum into hiding under police protection. Shy loser Ty gets a new name, a new look and a cool new image. Life as Joe is good. But the gangsters will stop at nothing to silence him. And then he meets a girl with a dangerous secret of her own.
Age Group: Young Adult 11+
Winner of 5 awards: North East Teenage Book Award 2011, Angus Book Award 2011, Lancashire Book of the Year Award 2011, Wirral Paperback of the Year 2011 and Wigan Teen Explorer Award 2011. Short- or longlisted for 15 other awards, including The Branford Boase Award and the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2010, the Carnegie CILIP Medal 2011 and the Young Minds Book Award 2010.