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Hurricane Wills ISBN: 9780747581505
Grindley, Sally
Published by Bloomsbury, 2006
'There's a hurricane smashing through our house.' This is how Chris begins the story of his life with his older brother Wills. Wills has ADHD, called here ADD, which Chris says stands for Acts Daft and Dumb, and this is a serious case of it. Wills at 13 is big, six feet tall, and not only hyperactive but has become a stroppy teenager too, rude and overpowering. He regularly trashes the house, is usually in trouble at school and has got in with a bad group of older boys. Dad has left to live nearby as he can't stand the chaos. He tends to blow up at Wills - a volcano meeting a hurricane Chris says. The descriptions of life at home and life on visits with dad are all to realistic. And yet, Wills is vulnerable too. He sometimes admits to Chris that he is scared, and then goes on to tease him unmercifully. It is hard to imagine how the family copes at all with such a difficult child, and in the end, an almost-tragedy pulls them all up - even Wills - and things begin to change. This is an enthralling read with no easy answers. Siblings of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder will understand Chris's predicament only too well.
Age: 10+