Description

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Ever since his dad died in a shock accident, thirteen-year-old Gabe’s world has been turned upside-down and back to front. Literally: Gabe has discovered the ability to tell stories which take him into the past, or imagine an impossible version of the present or future that seems as real as real. Gabe has no clue what is going on. But the answers may lie with his mysterious uncle Jesse, an online game called Small Town Hero which seems to mirror Gabe’s own life, a long-lost grandmother, and the very fabric of time and the universe.

About the Author

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Patrick Neate is the author of seven novels, including Twelve Bar Blues, which won the Whitbread (now Costa) Novel Award, and two books of non-fiction, including Where You’re At, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. His film scripts include an adaptation of his own novel City of Tiny Lights, starring Riz Ahmed and Billie Piper, and pianist James Rhodes’s best-selling memoir Instrumental. He is also the founder of Book Slam, London’s first and greatest literary shindig.

Praise For…

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"An irresistible lead character and a plot that will melt your brain out of your ears (in the best way)" - Patrick Ness -

"A brain-melting exploration of gaming, multiverse theories and the nature of life, death and the human instinct to tell stories. It is gripping – and features some thrilling football writing to boot" - - Guardian

"When characters spring to life like this, even the most extraordinary, logic-defying events feel possible" - Claire Hennessy - Irish Times, Best of 2020

"Neate’s smart involving tale follows 13-year-old Gabe, who is mourning his father, as he finds himself sucked into a strange world" - - The i

"A brilliantly rewarding and complex plot suitable for older readers, Small Town Hero is full of realistic characters and interesting philosophical ideas, as well as being a beautiful exploration of family, grief and acceptance" - - BookTrust