The Gifted, the Talented and Me

By Author / Illustrator

William Sutcliffe

Genre

Funny Stories

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

ISBN

9781408890219

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

02-05-2019

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Sam is not a famous vlogger, he's never gone viral, and he doesn't want to be the Next Big Thing. In fact, he's ordinary and proud of it. None of which was a problem until Dad got rich and Mum made the whole family move to London. Now Sam's off to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented, where everyone's busy planning Hollywood domination or starting alt-metal psychedelica crossover bands. Sam knows he'll never belong, even if he wanted to. And that's before he ends up on stage wearing nothing but a fur onesie ...

A brilliantly funny look at fitting in, falling out and staying true to your own averageness. 'Dangerously funny ... To the parent, every line rings true - this is a writer with real live teenagers and he is especially good on the ups and downs of sibling relations and young love. Sutcliffe is gifted and talented. I hope the prizes flood in. I'll be giving this to every teenager I know' - Alex O'Connell, The Times 'The Gifted, the Talented and Me made me cry with laughter. A comic novel like this is a gift to the nation' - Amanda Craig

Download Extract

Reviews

15 year old Sam is happy with his average, ordinary life at an average, ordinary school with his average ordinary friends in the average, ordinary town of Stevenage. So when Dad strikes it rich and Mum decides to move the family to Hampstead and send the kids to the North London School for the Gifted and Talented, Sam is less than impressed. He struggles to fit in with all the pretentious actors, musicians, artists and dancers and finds the school's creative freedom stifling (especially when he realises that this freedom does not extend to football - his one true passion - which is banned). Worse, his older brother and younger sister love their new lives and are thriving. Can Sam find a way to fit in while remaining true to himself, and will it involve putting on a mangy fur onesie dotted with weeping boils? The Gifted, The Talented and Me is a funny, engaging coming-of-age story full of laughter, romance, drama, luvvies and embarrassing parents. I must admit that it took me a while to warm up to Sam. He was a bit of a Standard Mopey Teen at the start of the book, but he was well written and (mostly) likeable, with a personality that developed satisfyingly and believably over the course of the novel - his humour and the way he matured over the book had definitley won me over by the end. My teenage self would definitely have related to Sam's relationship angsts - I'm sure my internal monologue when I was 15 sounded a lot like his. I can see this book appealing to a broad readership, especially KS4, or more mature KS3, readers who are after a fun and good-hearted story that feels real. 323 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Dan Katz, school librarian