Breathe

Nicole has a secret she is hiding from everyone; even her boyfriend, Alex. She suffers from anxiety. Sometimes her worries threaten to overwhelm her. To Alex she appears calm and confident. He has no idea how scared she often feels inside. But Nicole begins to find it impossible to keep her feelings hidden. She is faced with a choice. Reveal her secret - or lose Alex. What will she decide? Following on from a hugely successful first series, Two Sides II is comprised of books with two first person narratives which run parallel to each other along a carefully structured timeline. One ‘bystander’ narrative presents a narrow perspective of the main character, usually coming from a place of ignorance or prejudice. The other narrative is voiced by the main character, revealing the broader reality of their situation and what it’s really like to be in their shoes. These thoughtful and inclusive stories sensitively address some of the more complex experiences of many teenagers today, with subjects covering domestic abuse, anxiety, gender identity, sexuality, racism and loneliness. They are perfectly pitched for struggling and reluctant readers aged 13+ who have a reading age of roughly 8-9, fulfilling a need for lower level age-appropriate fiction with the look and feel of a ‘real’ book. This compelling series will grab students’ attention, whilst cautioning them not to assume that they know what someone else is going through, just because of how things look on the outside. They are gripping, hard-hitting and emotional, and are a stark reminder of what it means to be an individual.