One stormy night, five stranded schoolchildren uncover the story of Richard Clayton Harwick - a boy who many years ago learned what it was like to have a truly wicked stepfather. But the children have stories of their own step-parents to tell - stories that have warmth and humour, as well as sadness, and a fair share of happy endings. 'For children who have some similar experience, this novel will be therapeutic; for those who haven't it's an absorbing read, to make them laugh and cry' Sunday Telegraph. Reviews Anne Fine has written numerous highly acclaimed and prize-winning books for children and adults. The Tulip Touch won the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award; Goggle-Eyes won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal; Flour Babies won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year; and Bill's New Frock won a Smarties Prize. Anne Fine was named Children's Laureate in 2001 and was awarded an OBE in 2003.
