Mimi Thebo – författare

A first children’s title from a prize-winning poet and author of adult books. A novel exploring a young boy’s grief, set against a colourful background of surfing.Eleven-year-old Billy's mother has just died. Billy's father isn't coping too well so Billy goes to stay with his dull Auntie Mary. The death of his mother has taken all the colour away from Billy's world. He sees his Auntie Mary as a grey person, whose dull blue house is shrouded in fog. Billy feels foggy and dull, too, and longs for the colour to return to his life. His mother was a well-known surfer – Kitten Brown – and the author has woven into this novel the buzzing vibes of the surfing world. Waves, movement, colour, VW combis, Cornwall, surfing songs – described through Billy's dreams as he sleeps away his grief. For though Billy's mother is dead, her joyful personality pervades the whole story as Billy, Auntie Mary and Billy's dad all attempt to deal with their grief. The author confronts the themes of loss and change in a most vibrant and original way. Her writing is sensual – colour, taste, smell, touch and sound all leap from the page. She shows how different people handle loss and change differently, and how they learn to relate to each other in new ways.The author's writing style is simple, sparse yet poetic, reminiscent of David Almond and Berlie Doherty.

Jack is determined to find his missing father. He tracks him down to the seamy side of town and an underworld that has no place in modern society. A second thought-provoking book from this lively new author.A wonderfully original story to follow this author’s debut as a children’s author with Wipe Out. As in Wipe Out, the book follows a child through a difficult journey but humour and hope spreads through the novel, giving it that feel-good factor at the end.Jack decides to track down his father when his mother announces she is to re-marry. Jack is a bit of a geek – he’s a whizz-kid into nutritional values of food and goes to a school for gifted children. It’s this that introduces the element of humour to the novel, through his friendships at school with other equally gifted kids.During Jack’s search, he befriends a homeless Big Issue seller, plus dog, and a Black soul singer and soul music is a feature of the novel. The two men try to dissuade Jack from finding his father, since they know he lives with the a ‘no-good bunch of hobos’ who live on the streets, funded by crime and even child abuse.Written in Mimi Thebo’s distinctive voice, this second novel is sure to attract attention.

Artie has everything a boy could possibly want. But beneath the surface, his “perfect” world is actually falling apart.GET REAL is a novel about a boy discovering the really important things in life – and teaching everyone around him as he learns.Artie has everything. His parents are making a serious fortune for themselves as sports agents, they’ve got a dream house with every kind of toy and gizmo a kid could ever desire, and Artie and his younger brother and sister go to glamorous parties every weekend in designer clothes, where they hang out with sporting celebrities… Oh, and did I mention Artie’s own phenomenal football ability? He’s already got some premiership talent scouts watching him.In spite of all this, Artie’s miserable. Why? Well, he hardly sees his successful parents, never gets to spend much time in their dream home and he and his best mate, Matt, aren’t getting on so well. In fact, having school days with Matt and weekends with his parents is like living in two separate worlds. Grandad is the only thing that holds these worlds together. But Grandad’s loopiness is getting worse. And only Artie knows it…

Eudora, a small town in the middle of wheat, oil, and cattle country, is on the verge of extinction. And Lottie Dougal, the local stationer with a healing touch, may be the only one who can bring the community back together–if she doesn’t destroy it first.In a town like Eudora, where everyone knows you from birth to death, it takes a brave woman to color her hair. Since returning to Eudora from a stint in the big city, Lottie Dougal has streaked hers until her aubu`rn curls glow as bright as the neon sign at Chuck’s Beer and Bowl. Clearly, the woman is one of life’s risk takers. So when the town’s new doctor (and the object of Lottie’s affections) fails to produce the anticipated ring at the Snow Ball, rumor has it that Lottie is consulting Herbal Cures and Curses . . . for a spell.But love potions, like good intentions, can backfire. Dr. Emery does indeed take a bride, but one who hails from a city far from Eudora’s main street. As if the arrival of this temptress and Lottie’s broken heart aren’t enough to keep Eudorans clucking and plotting, the town has its own share of growing pains. The quarry is in financial ruin and the mayoral election unearths long-buried racial friction. An unprecedented drama unfolds–which, naturally and often quite comically, reverberates through the lives of the residents trying to save their livelihoods and the future of the town. As for Lottie and the good doctor, well, Eudora has a plan of its own. . . .From the Trade Paperback edition.

EUDORA IS A SMALL TOWN WHERE SECRETS SIMPLY DON’T EXIST, THANKS TO NOSY NEIGHBORS AND LIGHTNING-FAST GOSSIP.As summer descends on Eudora, tempers rise with the scorching sun. The romance of Janey Lane and Mark Ramirez is a perfect example of how the town has resolved its racial tensions, but misunderstandings (compounded by a late-night discovery of beautiful Kylie Requena in Mark’s living room) lead Janey and Mark to call it off. And theirs is not the only split. Patti and Phil Walker, with three mischievous boys and another baby on the way, have not been seen together in weeks. Now Phil has moved in with Chuck from the Beer and Bowl, and the two seem to be plotting something with retiring wheat farmer Jim Evans. It’s suspected that Jim Flory (the town’s confirmed bachelor) might be in on it, but nobody’s sure what “it” might be.The over-the-hedge talk ignites as Mark fumbles his attempt to re-woo Janey (honestly, a ring and a wedding date would have sealed the deal). Toss in mounting pressure on the farming community, political conflicts (local and beyond), some strange crops growing in a certain backyard, and even more babies–now that herbalist and part-time spell maker Lottie, who is conspiring to save Patti’s and Janey’s romances, is herself pregnant–and Eudora must take collective cover as sparks fly.Happily, the town is quick to forgive its all-too-human citizenry, as profound questions of existence take comic and heartfelt turns in a place where nothing much ever happens–except life.From the Trade Paperback edition.

A vivid sense of the wilderness and nature’s power comes through in this intriguing and tension-filled YA novel narrated by a contemporary teen. Perfect for animal lovers, this unusual novel has hints of the quirky charm of Geek Girl and the emotional depth of The Last Leaves Falling.  Darcy’s dad, a naturalist, moves their family from England to the snowy wilderness of Yellowstone National Park. Mum, Dad, and older brother Jem are all thriving, but Darcy misses her friends, and civilization, including WiFi. She’s also sick, getting weaker with each day, and having strange dreams—or are they something else? Then she finds an injured mother bear whose cubs were killed by hunters. The bear is enormous, and powerful, but she doesn’t threaten Darcy—she makes Darcy feel alive. The bear needs Darcy just as much as Darcy needs her. Darcy must help her, even though she might not be well enough to take care of the bear, let alone herself. A mystery illness, shifting points of view, and dreamlike sequences make this an unusual and immersive story. Darcy is brave and resourceful, but nothing has prepared her to confront nature’s ultimate question: Can a girl and a wild bear triumph over the basic rule of survival: kill or be killed?

My life had been saved...and boy, was I annoyed. Humour and attitude keep Coco going when things get grim. Her relationships with her mother, hospital staff and other injured teens sustain her when her school friendships fall apart. But although everyone's working to give Coco a normal life, Coco doesn't think 'normal' is enough...When she was fourteen, the author Mimi Thebo died in a car accident. Hospital High is a young adult novel based on the day she died and the subsequent three years spent recovering from the accident.

One of an innovative new series of linked stories designed to build reader confidence. Nobody wants to play with Lucy on her first day in school, so her teacher gives her some chalks and Lucy begins to draw animals on the playground. She doesn't notice Zack and Ibrahim sitting at opposite ends of a nearby bench, watching her.