Böcker av Shirley-Anne McMillan

"The pressure -- social and academic -- is high for the teenage students of an elite secondary school in Belfast; Can poetry, friendship and a trip to Spain give them the courage to be true to themselves? Wealthy, popular Charlotte and quiet, working class Drew couldn't be more different, but both face a common enemy at Cooke's Academy in the form of the Stewards -- an elite group of students whose power to manipulate school culture is feared by pupils and teachers alike"--

'A writer to watch' Irish TimesShirley-Anne McMillan's latest YA novel is a stunning, heartbreaking journey of learning how to trust when you've been let down so many times before, and finding the courage to be true to who you are, when it's so much easier to pretend to be someone else.

The Unknowns is a story about hope in a city where increasing numbers of young people are struggling to get by, a place where there is no trust in the political system, and where some people still dare to dream.

Nollaig has survived life in Belfast with her alcoholic dad on wits, courage and the gift of the gab. But now she's frightened: not for herself, but for the baby she's secretly carrying. She decides to run away. She finds refuge in the little-used crypt of a local church. She plans to stay there until after Christmas, when she'll be sixteen and free to leave home for good.The only person she tells about her pregnancy, her plans, and her hiding place is her best friend Stephen. He knows only too well how dangerous the truth can be, if the truth marks you out as 'different'.When the church's vicar discovers them, they think their time is up; but they've discovered his little secret - and will use it against him if he reveals theirs.Overlooked by an angel in the stained glass, these three souls-in-hiding face the choice before them: a life hidden in the safety of shadows, or a life lived freely, fully fledged and in plain sight?