David Hill: Right Where It Hurts

By MARGIE THOMSON books editor

Hill's particular skill is his seamless weaving of factual information into the story.

Here, he deals with the painful subject of teenage self-harm.

Slade, whose parents live in shabby rental accommodation, has just started at plutey Green Harbour College where he initially feels deeply resentful of the apparently easy lives of some of the other students.

In particular, he forms an instant dislike for high-achieving Mallory Garner, whose large garden Slade's step-dad tends part-time.

But as Slade gets to know Mallory he finds she has a terrible secret, and he must wrestle with his desire to just run away from the problem.

This is one of Hill's best stories for older children: thoughtful, tender, terrifying.

He doesn't let his characters get away with anything.

The two strong characters, one male, one female, should increase the readership and, hopefully, encourage discussion about this contemporary epidemic.

(Mallinson Rendel $15.95)