The Life of Riley: Beginner’s Luck

Utterly hilarious middle-grade novel from Simon James Green about a ridiculous amount of bad luck and one boy’s quest to get rid of it. After a traumatic run-in with the fortune teller from a visiting funfair – thanks to an unfortunately-timed sneeze – Riley finds himself CURSED. Life as he knows it quickly becomes a catalogue of disasters – from wetting himself onstage during the school show, accidentally supergluing himself to his classmates and ruining the school football team’s sponsorship deal, to flooding his house and losing class 4’s pet rabbit – Riley knows the bad luck is out to get him.

Enter new kid: Brad Chicago. He’s super-cool, well-groomed and stylish, with an excellent stationery collection. And for some reason he wants to be Riley’s friend.

Can Riley get rid of the curse before Brad discovers he’s a walking disaster? Laugh-out-loud funny, warm-hearted and anarchic in a way that readers will love. Brought to life with Aleksei Bitskoff’s lively, humorous illustrations. Perfect for fans of Kid Normal, David Solomons’ My Brother is a Superhero and David Baddiel.

Simon James Green is an award-winning YA author – and, alongside his upcoming picture books, his first middle-grade novel shows just how versatile he is.