Life Of Riley : Beginner's Luck

Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award

A hilarious middle-grade novel about one boy's quest to get rid of a ridiculous amount of bad luck! 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. Award-winning author Simon James Green is best known for his funny books for teens.

This is his first book for middle-grade readers.