"Australia's king of young adult fiction" The Australian

"A very funny, very Australian book" West Australian

Maybe deep down every kid knows his parents want him to be the Pride of the School, the Captain of Cricket and Tennis and Rowing and Darts and Knitting and anything else that's going down.

They don't want to know about the fact that you've had more detentions than any other new student in the history of the school, that you're going out with the girl who doesn't wear a bra to PE, that the Head Swimming Coach is some kind of Nazi whose last job was training the shark in Jaws.

Erle Gatenby has been sent to boarding school to straighten out, but there's about as much chance of that happening as there is of his giving up smoking. . . or drinking. . . or falling through the Art Room roof. Erle's a full tank of petrol. . . and wild, sexy Melanie Tozer is about to light the match.

Fans of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and John Flanagan will love John Marsden.